Monster (Yomo x Ghoul OC)
by bohemewanderer
Summary: Kaiya became Yamori's apprentice after her parents' death and made herself a reputation for her strength and thirst for blood. However, her mentor's death will put her in a difficult position as she will find herself in a war between ghouls and humans. While looking for her inner peace, her and another ghoul's paths will cross on many occasions and that ghoul is Renji Yomo.
1. The One-Eyed Ghoul (Ch1)

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="afb4e4e68987216aa6593be29253a640""Devour or be devoured. Do you want to be strong and avenge your parents? Then you must kill everyone and that includes your emotions." That's what Yamori told me when I first met him in the 13th ward almost eleven years ago. Ever since then, I've been in a dilemma ; it's not devouring that I specifically like, I enjoy the act of killing but deep inside, I still feel a faint pain with every life I take. My mother and father were kind and gentle towards everyone. They always helped others, both ghouls and humans. That kindness of theirs is the reason why they're dead. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f04535898987711bbdcbbef4bd0248e3"I am a ghoul and this is the only way I get to survive in this world. I don't want to be devoured by my anger and end up going insane like Yamori, however, I can't let my feelings get ahead of me.../p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="68010f0fea33fb9ccf29df06417e0233"I don't care if others see me as a cruel monster. As long as I get to look at myself in the mirror without feeling hate nor shame of what I've become, I'll keep devouring and I'll keep killing./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9d9419b091216337dc834bf1f693b851"I'm currently sitting on a rooftop in 4th ward, watching the city lights flashing randomly in various wards. This rooftop have so much meaning for me but I guess this will be my last time around here. A war is about to happen between those who want to create a new order, a new world and others who want to exterminate all ghouls; the best with the worst. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="be9474ebc8974f4fc0a1a56400ad9e51"To be honest, a world where ghouls can live freely without hiding amongst the shadows sounds like a dream to me, but in the end, I don't think anything's going to change. Some ghouls try to blend into the society and live like humans but how long will their little game last? Those weaklings are only living an illusion... I envy such naivety. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5591033837920dfee2ebf030d0b4dbbb"Personally I find humans quite interesting but Yamori always told me to keep my distance. They are nothing more than food after all. Although, I do enjoy a few conversation with random strangers but that doesn't make me feel any sympathy; just a tender curiosity. Anyway... This city is starting to rot with too many dead bodies and blood. I have no intention to become a puppet for others' ideals. However, I still must live under Yamori's thumb; he is my mentor, despite his bizarre hobbies and bad reputation, I am indebted./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="160be27341230af1ae017760b9fa6626"My kagune is starting to get itchy and the dispute I had with Yamori is killing my vibe. I'm glad Nico was there to calm things up... Ever since we moved to the 11th ward, he started to become a pain in the ass. Now he is making me do his work like I'm some kind of footman while he's playing with his subjects. One day, I'll become stronger than him and the debt will be paid. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f358766035f2280a5024809dd2141bcb"Looking for a new prey is starting to get boring. This rooftop is quite windy. I wonder how I never got cold up here before- Oh... Now I remember, this is where I used to come with... Renji./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ddcd3ba7278bad4613a00a2886170cf1"What's that? /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3877ad7251d0763c197c5136394daa01"Now, here's my prey coming towards this dark alley... What an idiot. Who uses dark alleys nowadays? I mean, it's a city filled with psychopaths and ghouls, sometimes both at the same time... Oh well. Dinner's ready! /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ee6eb8f3e7619e6e76ed1db6a222d9c8"Wait a second... That's the same human I chatted with, just few hours ago! I recognize that face. What a shame, it sure was a pleasant conversation but I guess, death keeps no calendar. I'm hungry after all./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="718661609d50f92abe66019fdb0fa218"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Oderint, dum metuant. /em[let them hate, so long as they fear] /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="85e9ca53414cd55445f4a20f654f6529"I can already taste his heart in my mouth, let's see how long he'll last without it./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="88bb3bd043bfd6c9ee77dd70ab72964b"Let the feast begin!/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e" /p 


	2. Searching for Rize Kamishiro (Ch2)

Both Nico and Yamori were waiting for Kaiya in front of the large abandoned building in the 11th ward. "You're late..." Yamori said with a cold voice as soon as Kaiya made an appearance. "I was eating... Give me a break won't you, old man", Kaiya gave Yamori the cold attitude like a rebellious teenager. "Why are you so bitter Kai-chan? And what exactly are you wearing?" Nico tried to dispel the tension between the two by changing the subject with a critique on the clothes that she borrowed from Itori earlier. "Forget about my sense of fashion Nico, now why did you call me?" She asked and went straight to the point. It was dark outside, but the moonlight helped Kaiya see Yamori and Nico's faces clearly. "I need you to look for Rize Kamishiro, that 'binge-eater', find her and bring her to the 11th ward headquarters. Tatara was clear about one thing; bring her alive", as Yamori gave Kaiya her next mission, her eyes grew bigger. "Rize Kamishiro? What does Tatara wants to do with her?" She started questioning Yamori to dig deeper in Aogiri's objectives. Yamori frowned, annoyed by Kaiya's questions, he scolded her like the child she was in his eyes. "That doesn't concern you child! I only want you to execute the mission so stop pissing me off!" Kaiya could see the burning flame in his eyes very clearly. Angry, she clenched her fists and left his sight without a word. She had the choice of going back home where she shared an apartment with Yamori, but instead, she chose to wander around and start looking around for Rize or any trace that she could have left behind.

Meanwhile in the 20th ward

After dropping Kaneki back to his house, Yomo started walking towards the container he lived in. The silence that covered the deserted streets was disrupted by his phone. It was his boss, Yoshimura calling him. " _He never calls this late_ ", Yomo thought as he answered. "I am very sorry for calling you this late but I'll need to ask you to do something for me", the old man's voice sounded worried. He then continued talking after a long and deep sight. "With the CCG investigating the 20th ward, things aren't as calm as they used to be, however, there are some strange things going on in the 11th. A strange group of ghouls are trying to take down the CCG, attacking investigators. I need you to look into that. You might want to start working with Jason. He has been seen with some of the ghouls that attacked the CCG 11th ward building". Hearing Jason's name gave Yomo the chills. He never liked that man despite the fact that he only heard rumours about him, although he never ignored his power. "I'll look around and see what I can find out. As soon as I find out some information, I'll let you know". He hung up the phone and kept walking home. After entering his container, turned into a cozy home, he decided to give Itori a call. "Renji? Aww do you miss me already?" She answered the phone with her usual cheerful voice despite the fact that it was really late. "Itori, I need you to give me some information on Yamori's whereabouts. Anything could be useful..." Without any small talk, he went straight to business. After a few giggles, Itori made comments on Yomo's usual seriousness. "Oh Renji! You're starting to become an actual workaholic and that's scaring me. Although, it's funny because just before you, Kai-chan called me to ask about what I knew on Rize's disappearance. I couldn't give her any specific information for free, even though I love her so I just said that she was last seen around the 20th ward. Anyway, about Yamori... Well you might wanna talk to Kai instead of me. I'm sure she'll be a hard nut to crack but she sure does know more than I do, the two are kinda related after all". Yomo raised an eyebrow and thought of it for a while. "I see. Thanks anyway, I'll talk to you later Itori." After hanging up the phone, Yomo looked around for a while and sighed. He poured himself some of the coffee he prepared for himself and once he managed to gather the energy and motivation, he left.

Back to Kaiya

"20th ward...", the area was silent and empty. Unlike the 13th or the 11th wards, the area wasn't crowded with crazy ghouls that are dying to show off their force and think of nothing but eating and killing. She took a deep breath and smiled, she wondered how her life would turn out if she never met Yamori in the 13th ward back when she was a little kid. In her eyes, Yamori wasn't the psycho everyone thought he was. Indeed he was a sadistic maniac who enjoyed torturing anyone that would stand in his way, but to Kaiya, he was more than that. Yamori was the man who made her who she was, he was the reason why she became strong and needed no one else but herself. While sniffing around to find any odour that resembled Rize's, Kaiya found herself in front the café named "the Antique". There was no light nor any sign of Rize's presence except for the smell was quite strong and hard to ignore. She recognised the café immediately and rolled her eyes. "Yoshimura. What are you up to old man?" She asked herself and looked around for a while. "This is the place where that kid Kaneki works... [And of course Yomo]. But why does it smell like Rize? I guess tomorrow I'll have that delicious cup of coffee, after all these years. I'm sure it'll be as delicious as it used to be". She suddenly felt a presence around her. She looked around but couldn't see anyone, although she was sure someone was watching her. She looked up to the roof of the building that was on her right and noticed a large shadow. She couldn't exactly tell who it was, but she knew being seen wouldn't do her any favour. There were a few things that Kaiya didn't like; weakness and being followed. "Tsk... I can't work like this when I feel like I'm being watched. I don't think it's anyone from Aogiri. They wouldn't be so discreet about it. I wonder if it's a dove, or perhaps a ghoul..." She pulled out her fox-shaped mask from the inner pocket of her jacket and put it on. After releasing her kagune, she quickly climbed on the roof with a perfect balance where her follower was standing. As she approached it, she started to see more clearly. The tall shadow who followed her had a mask that resembled a raven. She knew exactly who it belonged to. "Under normal circumstances, I'd probably wouldn't pull off a fight against you but I had a delicious meal this evening. Don't hold back!" She pointed her kagune's sharp ending towards him and took her fighting position. Through the mask, Yomo could see the fire in her eyes. He didn't say anything but released his kagune that was in the shape of two large black wings.

"I never liked ravens anyway...", cat quick, she ran towards him and prepared her fist for a punch.


	3. The Fight (ch3)

Yomo's fist, hard as steel, hit Kaiya's cheek like a strong thunder. His punch made a crack on her mask. She started giggling. Giggles turned into hysterical laughters, she coughed some blood and spat it on the ground. "Compared to Yamori, you hit like a girl", she took off her mask and threw it on the ground then smashed it into pieces. Yomo frowned behind his raven-like mask, he stood still and waited for her to make a move. "If he's so violent towards you, then why are you still on his side?" He asked with the same calm voice he usually had. "You don't get it do you?" After she noticed that he was standing on the edge of the roof, she jumped on him to grab his coat. With all her weight , she threw herself down and pulled him down with her. The fall lasted long enough for her to switch sides, she was now on top of him. Yomo's body hit the ground and made a loud thud. She took advantage of their fall and kicked him in the face. Her kagune was pointed directly at him and there was a demonic grin on her face. She approached her lips on his left ear and whispered. "Ever heard of an old man named Nietzsche? What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. But enough with the philosophical shit, am I right?"

After gathering his strength, Yomo took a deep breath and pushed Kaiya away. He pulled himself together and kicked her stomach. The impact of his kick made Kaiya hit the brick wall that was behind her. Her kagune disappeared and she fell down. "I need to know your affiliation to this group of ghouls in the 11th ward that are trying to take down the CCG", he started walking towards the wrecked body of Kaiya under the pieces of bricks that fell on her. She managed to recover quickly and got back on her feet. "Do you mean Aogiri?" She cracked her middle finger and released her kagune once again. "If I told you anything, they'd kill me. But you, on the other hand, can help me out _baby_ ", she ran towards Yomo and sliced down between his legs to kick him from behind. Her movements were quick enough to take him by surprised, although he was experienced enough to take hits without any heavy injuries. Her red ghoul eyes glowed in the dark under the moonlight as she gave him a death stare. "Are the rumours about Rize true? Is the bitch dead or what?" She cracked another middle finger and lashed her kagune on his back like a heavy whip. Yomo remained silent and refused to answer her questions. "You know, Renji...", she spoke in a calm tone and continued, "back when you lived in the 4th ward, you weren't much of a softie. I guess being Yoshimura's lapdog pacified you." He suddenly grabbed her kagune with his hands before she could whip him again. The sharp edges of her scorpion tail cut through his hands as he kept squeezing them tightly. "Oh? So that ravenous beast lurking inside you isn't dead yet." Yomo's blocking despite his bleeding hands made Kaiya smile. She always liked fighting a challenging opponent. "Rize Kamishiro is no longer among the living...", this was the only information he gave. He pulled himself back on his feet and released his black kagune wings and jumped on the top of a street lamp. Unsatisfied from his answer, Kaiya frowned once again and hissed like a snake. "Then why is the café covered with that whore's stench!?" Out of rage, her kagune changed shape and instead of a single scorpion tail, it multiplied into three different tails that were larger, longer and sharper. She once again rushed towards him to attack once again, however from the top of the street lamp, Yomo was more advantaged and he managed to block her before she could hit. " _Yoshimura only gave me the order to find out information on the ghouls in the 11th ward but now I got caught. I don't want to kill her. For Uta and Itori's sake but I also can't let her kill me._ "Lost in his thoughts, suddenly his large kagune in the shape of two black wings came out of the back of his shoulders and launched spike-like projectiles towards her. Unable to evade his assault, Kaiya received a few projectiles that pierced her shoulder, her chest and her stomach. Her blood spilled on the ground in mass. "Motherfucker!" She whimpered in pain and dispelled her kagune. Before being taken down by Yomo, she decided to retreat. She was now in a risky situation, Yomo learned that she was also part of the Aogiri Tree because she couldn't keep her big mouth shut. She disappeared into the shadows with the last bit of energy she had left.

Once she left, Yomo went back up to the roof where they started their fight. He picked up the broken fragments of her mask and put them in his pocket. "What did you get yourself into this time... Kaiya." Despite their different lifestyles and vision of life, Yomo was concerned about her. Even though they weren't always on good terms, the two have known each other for quite a while. Before heading back home, he tried to clean up every evidence that could become a proof of a ghoul fight except for the damaged brick wall.

"Damn it!" She punched the wall of her empty living room. Yamori was nowhere to be found so Kaiya took advantage of his absence to let out her anger. She sat down on the floor and ate a few remaining body parts that she kept in the refrigerator. She decided to pull out the tiny pieces of projectiles that were still stuck inside her injuries. "I was too quick to make judgement and lost the battle because of my rage. I should have fought with more serenity... I couldn't see through him. That asshole held back until I gave him an opportunity to fight back", she finished cleaning herself and went back to her room to lay down. "It's going to be a long day tomorrow..." She told herself before going to sleep.

She woke up around noon and noticed how late it was. Her injuries were so much better already although she still felt weakened. She hopped off the bed and put on an outfit that made her look like a high school student. "Doves aren't so suspicious with students so this should be fine." She looked at the clothes that she borrowed from Itori, torn into pieces from the fight she had with Yomo. "I am going to tell Itori to send the bills to Yomo. No way I am paying for this", she sighed and left her room. Yamori's door was closed but she knew he was in his room; the smell of fresh blood and death was all over the house. " _He spent the whole night in his torture room at the Aogiri headquarters ... I wonder who was his last toy_ ", she thought and put on her jacket before leaving.

Compared to the night before, it was a much colder day. On her way to the 20th ward to continue her investigation, she pulled out her phone to call Uta. As usual, the mask-maker was still sleeping and didn't answer his phone so she left him a message. "Yo! I was wondering if you could make me a new mask. The same, I like the fox one. I'm sorry, I broke the last one during a fight. No details needed. Also could you tell Itori that the clothes she gave me aren't really in a good shape, that's also a long story but maybe I'll catch up with you guys later". She hung up and ran towards the train station. The 11th ward was filled with CCG investigators because of the recent events, however, Kaiya had a natural talent at being discreet. After a few stations and a long walk she finally arrived at her destination. She looked around and noticed the broken brick-wall that was a few buildings further. She sighed and entered the café named Antique.

An old friend was standing behind the counter in the usual waitress uniform. It was no one else but the infamous 'black dog', Mrs. Irimi. Seeing Kaiya was a big surprise for her, although she knew that 'Jason's Apprentice' wouldn't come to a café such as the Antique if it wasn't for business. "Kaiya... The boss is upstairs if you're here to see him", she said in a gentle way and pointed the stairs. The café was almost empty, despite the fact that it was half-past noon. Kaiya noticed it was again, a smell so similar to Rize's, covering the whole place ; mixed with the odour of a variety of coffee grains. Kaiya walked up the stairs slowly and found herself in front of the office that belonged to the old Yoshimura. She entered after a few knocks and noticed Yoshimura sitting in front of Renji Yomo. As Kaiya stepped through the door, the two stopped talking and turned towards the young woman. Yomo gave Kaiya a very dark glance, she noticed that he still had scars in his hands but they weren't as bad as Kaiya's injuries. Yoshimura, on the other hand, looked at Kaiya with a comforting smile on his face. "Ah... Kaiya-chan, we were expecting you. Please, have a seat", the old man pointed a place on the couch, right next to Yomo.


	4. Into The Past (Ch4)

Kaiya sat next to Yomo on the couch and for a moment, an awkward silence dominated the room until it was broken by the Antique's owner, Yoshimura. "Let's start with the basics, how exactly are you related to Aogiri?" The fact that Yoshimura lost no time in interrogating Kaiya made her laugh. "You're a straightforward one aren't you old man?" Kaiya's lack of respect towards Yoshimura made Yomo clench his fists. Although he remained silent. Kaiya continued, "I wish I could answer your questions but I can't. Why are you so interested in me anyway?" She was curious about what Yoshimura's goal was by learning more about her life. Yoshimura looked outside from the window and smiled. "You remind me of a ghoul I once knew... The same flame of passion for fighting is burning up inside you and I can see it through your eyes. It'd be a shame that you're using your strength for a cause that will only bring death and calamity." Kaiya scoffed at his optimism towards her. "There is nothing to tell, I was a brat when I met him and he took me in. That's all...". She looked down a took a sip from the cup of coffee that was standing on the table. "I think there's more than that. From what I know of this Jason, he doesn't just take children under his protection for charity. There must be more into it." The old man contradicted and tried to encourage Kaiya in telling more. The two looked at each other for a while, suddenly Kaiya chuckled and had a change of heart. "Oh hell... You do have a convincing nature, I must admit."

After taking a deep breath, she started to explain her story. "Yamori... After he became the infamous 'Jason of the 13th ward' and before he joined the Aogiri or anything, there was just me and him. Can you imagine a little girl who witnessed her family's massacre and had no power to do anything about it, except for hiding and crying herself to sleep that night, hidden inside the closet? It fucks you up. I ran away from the 4th ward to the 13th, hoping that I'd learn to fight or died while doing it so. That's when I found myself in his territory, feeding myself off some helpless couple that I killed. He came and threatened me with my life. I was stupid enough to fight him and so I ended up getting my ass kicked, in a very bad way. He could have killed me, cannibalism isn't something new over there. 'Devour or be devoured', that's motto there that everyone lived by. Anyway... I don't know why but that night, instead of killing me, Yamori beat my ass off to show me a point. I still remember his exact words; ' _So you want to be a cold-hearted killer? Don't make me laugh kiddo. First rule of fighting, hit them before they hit you. I must admit, you're pretty good at taking hits for a brat that small. I'm impressed_ '. After that, he took me in, he taught me how to fight and to kill and he raised me as student".

Kaiya's story had a slight nuance of sadness and showed Yoshimura a different side of the ghoul, Yamori also known as Jason. Despite her story, it didn't change his main opinion on the cold-hearted killer; the sociopath that he was. Yomo shrugged and left Yoshimura's room. This was the first time he ever heard anything about Kaiya's past. He guessed that Itori knew more about her because they both grew up in the 4th until Kaiya's family got killed. Other than that, Kaiya was just a mystery to him, and yet she still was. After he left the room, Yoshimura and Kaiya continued discussing. "Now you know it. It's your turn, Rize Kamishiro... Why does this place is covered with her smell and where the hell is she!?" She got off the couch and gave the old Yoshimura a menacing look. Yoshimura, in a very calm way, took a sip of his coffee and started speaking. "Rize Kamishiro did came by the café from time to time. However, she hasn't been seen in a very long time. That's all there is. We believe that she might be dead." He was lying and Kaiya could smell the lie from over a mile. She gave the old man a half-smile and nodded. She grabbed her things from the couch and walked towards the door. Before leaving, she turned at Yoshimura and thanked him for the delicious coffee. She left and closed the door behind her. On her way to the exit of the coffee, she ran into the same young man she saw at Itori's bar with Yomo; Ken Kaneki. She passed right next to him and suddenly recognized the smell. It was Rize's odour, a slightly different flavour but she had no doubt it was her smell and no one else's. She watched Kaneki leave the hallway from the side of her eye and grinned. "Now I got you. That old Yoshimura lied to me. I knew it!"

After she made her exit through the door, quickly, she pulled out a tiny phone and dialed Yamori's number. "You can thank me later. I found your so precious 'binge-eater'... I'll give you the details later." She hung up the phone and quickly disappeared into the alleys of the city.

Almost an hour after Kaiya left the Antique, Yoshimura and Yomo also walked outside towards Yomo's car. After a long drive, they finally arrived to a secret area of the 20th ward where they could discuss their next strategy. "I fear for Kaneki. There's no doubt now, she's related to this Aogiri Tree and if they're looking for Rize, it won't be too long before they realize Kaneki's situation." The old man showed was worried about his new crew member. Yomo nodded and asked his boss if there was anything he could do. "We'll have to wait and see for now what their next move will be." Yoshimura's order was loud and clear; waiting was their only option. "What about the girl?" Yomo asked. He ceased to break his calmness, however he feared that the worst was about to happen to both Kaiya and to Kaneki. "It's a shame that her potential is being wasted away for such dark intentions. Ghouls like her have no mercy nor any sense of sensibility. Her wilderness will eventually catch attention if it hasn't done it so far. Her own wilderness will be her death. Leave her be. Make sure she doesn't cause any problem near the Antique." Yoshimura's words made Yomo think for a while. They haven't realized how late it was. They decided to return quickly to the Antique. On the road, both of them felt like something wasn't right. Once they arrived to the Antique, they found themselves in front of a mess. Touka was unconscious on the ground, tables were flipped and windows were broken. It didn't take much for both Yoshimura and Yomo to figure out that Kaneki was already taken by Aogiri.


	5. Ken Kaneki (Ch5)

"Oh lord, is he still screaming?" Nico entered the big empty hall. Kaiya was sitting right in front of a metallic door, on the ground. Although her clothes were black, the crimson colour was clearly visible and it reeked of blood. Kaiya nodded and kept reading her book in silence. From the dusty window of the door, Nico tried to check it out for a moment and quickly sat beside Kaiya. "How can someone bleed that much? I mean, not that I'm complaining. It kinda turns me on!" He claimed and closed her book and stared at Nico with shock. "Ok. I didn't need to know that Nico. Seriously!" She got up and left Yamori's playroom building. It has been 5 days ever since Yamori took Kaneki away. Kaiya was even surprised that the kid could survive that long. She thought, behind his naive face, a true warrior was lying. Once the executive members decided that he was useless, they gave him to Yamori as his new torture toy. According to Tatara, another important member of the Aogiri Tree, Kaneki becoming a one-eyed ghoul was caused by an organ transplant from Rize Kamishiro after an accident that killed her.

Before she could leave the Aogiri headquarters, she ran into Ayato Kirishima. He was the younger brother of Touka Kirishima from the Antique Café. The young boy gave Kaiya insight on a raid planned by the CCG against the Aogiri headquarters. It was planned to take place in less than a week. He told Kaiya to share the news with Yamori and his team. "Don't tell me he's still torturing that poor weakling...", he lashed out in a cold way. Kaiya shrugged and looked around as if she didn't care. "What Yamori is doing with his free time isn't my problem. You can go and share your thoughts with him, then we can all hold hands together in a circle and talk about our hopes and dreams. Right?" She scoffed, narrowed her eyes and gave him a half-smile. "Enough with the irony already. I get your point." He grumbled and finally left her sight. She chuckled and kept walking. After a few days of disappearance, she finally turned on her phone and decided to check around for a bit. She noticed the missing phone calls from both Itori and Uta. She figured, they'd call about Kaneki's kidnapping. It wasn't too hard to guess her involvement in it. She didn't bother calling them back, although another thing on her phone caught her attention. It was a voice message from Yomo. His usual cool voice was different and he sounded worried. "Kaiya. I need to know where Ken is. In the end, you'll be the one who gets hurt. Call me back when you can." It was a message that a person like Yomo would leave ; short, cold and of course a warning and nothing more. Since there was nothing nor anyone interesting to do, Kaiya decided to make things more interesting and returned to the Playroom after quickly cleaning herself up.

Yamori was gone and Kaneki was sitting alone in the big empty room, all chained up. He was mumbling some words, there was blood all over the floor. He was still counting numbers; a technique used by Yamori so that his victims wouldn't remain sane. Kaiya sat in front of Ken and started talking to him. "Hey there, stranger. What are you mumbling?" She looked at Ken and somehow, she felt some kind of pity towards him. "He's losing his time with him." He looked like a fragile bird on the edge of dying but somehow, he also looked like a mighty bull, fighting to survive. He ignored Kaiya's question and looked up and gazed into her eyes. "W-Why...", words barely came out of his mouth but Kaiya could slightly understand what he was trying to say. "W-Why... Me?" Tears began to shred and he could barely keep it together. Kaiya thought of it for a moment. She had no reason to be mean to Kaneki, she had no problem with him nor any unfinished business. Everything Yamori did was his own twisted game and she was only there to clean up his mess. His self-pity made Kaiya laugh. She took a moment to laugh it off and decided to give him a piece of her mind. "Why you? That's just life. It can be cruel. You'll get over it... IF, you can survive this". She got up and decided to leave him in his misery. Before she started walking away, Kaneki called for her. "Kai...Kaiya. Please. Help me! Aren't you friends with ? Why are ... you doing this?" He looked desperate, in pain and very lost. She stopped walking, suddenly another thought came to her mind and she turned back towards his seat. "I have acquaintance with him but that doesn't mean we are friends. I only follow the rules, nothing more and nothing less". She looked down on his toes that were cut off one by one. Yamori would cut them off and wait until they regenerated and he'd start cutting once again. Kaneki started sobbing as he kept talking with the last bit of energy left in him. "You... you're like him. No... You are worse." Words came out of his mouth in a forceful way. "Huh?" She gave him a death stare and grinned. "You think I'm worse? Why? Because I don't pity you?" She let out a loud laughter and continued to talk. "You think of me as a monster because I am watching this happen. Well you aren't the only one with the sad story. I suffered too and look what I became. I don't work for Yamori because I particularly love him but without him I'd be as good as a dead ghoul. He took me in and raised me, he trained me and I won't forget that. I have a debt to pay." She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. "I don't pity you. You're in this situation because you thought sacrificing yourself for your friends, Banjou and his idiotic crew. Was it worth it?" She asked in a nonchalant way. Kaneki suddenly stopped sobbing and looked down on his own blood spilled all over the floor. "My mother told me that it's best to get hurt myself than to hurt others..so...". Although he stopped sobbing, his couldn't stop his tears from flowing through his cheeks. Kaiya scoffed and rolled her eyes as a way of mocking his philosophy. "And look where it has brought you. Ghouls like you disgust me... You think that makes you a hero huh? Kids like you die all the time while they're trying to play the hero and that makes a few less idiots in the world". She noticed that her words were deeply affecting Kaneki, his way of looking changed and suddenly, he had a thoughtful expression on his face. He remained silent and tried to avoid any eye contact with her narrowed deep yellow eyes.

She got up on her feet. On her way back to the door, she kept talking. "All suffering in the world is born from an individual's incompetence." They were the exact same words that Yamori used before he started torturing Kaneki. His eyes grew bigger and he was in a state of shock. He didn't know what Kaiya's story was although he noticed that despite her resemblance to Yamori, they were slightly different things between the two; the same vision of life under different nuances. "Humans _took away Yamori's sense of pity. He did the same to her..._ " Kaneki's thoughts echoed in his mind as he watcher her leave in silence.

Before leaving Kaneki in his misery, Kaiya turned towards him one last time. "You know what? Under different circumstances I'd continue this chat, perhaps another time... We might. The only piece of mind that I can give is only **you** can save yourself. You might as well just cut your damn throat or grow a pair and fight. Getting hurt instead of hurting others... What a stupid thing to say". She left the room without saying anything more. Something about Ken Kaneki was interesting. The boy had a strange aura surrounding him and she couldn't really tell what it was but she was intrigued by him and despite everything, she wanted to talk to him more.

To be continued (...)


	6. Aogiri Arc (Ch6)

Days have passed and things remained calm at Aogiri, except for the loud screams that came from Yamori's playroom. It was a silence before the storm. Kaiya was sitting on the roof of the 5th building in the headquarters area. She read her book as she watched different groups of ghoul gather around to pick up weapons that they stole from the CCG. Her lecture was suddenly was interrupted by Eto's arrival. "Tonight, the doves will come to us. Are you ready to fight?" She asked in a cheerful way. Her face was covered with bandages under her purple cape but Kaiya could notice the big grin that she was making behind her disguise. She closed her book and gave Eto a glance. "I'm always ready for a fight". Despite her cold look, she was anxious. Her heart was racing because she knew that ghouls from the 20th ward were also going to come to save their friend Kaneki. She didn't feel the need to inform Eto on their arrival. The redhead got up and left Eto's by jumping off the roof to the ground. She slowly walked towards the deserted corner of the headquarters where she could find some peace and silence. After putting on her Aogiri cape, she pulled out the new mask that Uta made her and put it on. It was the same fox mask, same ornements but a different shades of red and white. She tied her long messy hair into a ponytail and decided to join Yamori to ask him whether he was planning to join the fight or not.

Everyone in the Antique Café were ready to leave. They brought their disguises to hide as members of the Aogiri and finished their last preparations. Before leaving the ruined café, Yomo was stopped by Itori. "Renji... I know Kaiya too well and she won't let Kaneki go without a fight. She can't afford to disappoint Yamori without a fight but please, if you see her. Don't let her get herself killed". Yomo gazed into Itori's eyes and could see how concerned she was. He nodded and put on his Aogiri mask. "I'll try but I can't make any promises. You know this". He left the café, followed by Touka, Nishiki, Uta, Yoshimura, Irimi and of course Hinami, who insisted to come.

Only a few hours later, gunshots echoed through the whole area. The 11th ward was already a war zone between CCG's gunfire and the spilled blood. The investigators managed to pass through the first phase of defense after a very young and small white haired investigator managed to kill off every gunman of Aogiri that was standing in the frontline. Yamori, while continuing to torture Kaneki, told Kaiya to take his place in the fight. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Suit yourself old man", she ran back to the main building where the fight was going on. The spilled blood and screams made Kaiya's heart skip beats. She was excited and she quickly rushed towards the higher ranked investigators. The Bin Brothers were busy with fighting a tall investigator in the backdoor while her target was the infamous and strongest investigator named Arima. While looking for him, she managed to behead a few lower ranked officers who tried to shoot her down. One of the officers who managed to survive with a deep cut on his chest tried to escape by crawling on the ground like a dying centipede. She caught him by his coat and pulled him up. "You only have a few minutes left so tell me... Where is the white haired investigator!? Arima!" She narrowed her eyes and licked the blood that was on her hand and gave him her usual demonic smile. The man struggled to talk and the only words that came out of his mouth were, "he... isn't here." Angry, Kaiya threw him on the ground and crushed his skull with her foot. "Damn it!" She yelled and sighed. "And I thought I was going to have fun...". She noticed another investigator approaching her and grabbed a gun that was on the floor. Without even looking back, she pulled the trigger and shot her attacker from his forehead. She looked at the gun she was holding and chuckled, "things might get interesting though...". Her eyes suddenly changed colour from yellow to red and she released her kagune. Ayato was fighting off a group of investigators on the other side of the area. She decided to give him a hand and jumped in. While Ayato launched projectiles from his wing-shaped kagune, she held the investigators back with her sporpion-tail. "Where the hell is Yamori when he's the most needed!?" The young ghoul yelled. Kaiya shrugged and ignored his question. A large explosion came from the back of the 5th building, she suddenly felt like something wasn't right back in the playroom and decided to head back to check on Yamori and Kaneki. She ran into more investigators on her way but it didn't her much time to kill them off in a single move.

She noticed that she was being followed. She suddenly stopped running and remained still. The odour was easy to recognize, she looked down and smiled. She turned back and took off her cape. "I didn't think I'd ran into old friends... Yomo, Uta and of course the Gourmet." She hissed and cracked her middle finger. The three ghouls pulled down their capes and came out of the shadows. "Ah! Mia bella! You still have a great sense of smell... How delightful!" Tsukiyama laughed and satisfied look on his face. Yomo took off his cape and threw it on the ground. "You two leave. I'll handle this..." He ordered Uta and Tsukiyama to leave. Before leaving Uta gave Yomo's shoulder a pat and whispered, "you're not planning to kill her, are you?" Yomo ignored Uta's question and kept watching Kaiya with determination in his eyes. Kaiya hit the wall with her large kagune and blocked the path by tearing the passage into pieces. "I can't let you pass, no hard feelings. Right, Uta?" Yomo gritted his teeth and frowned. "Find another passage. Go!" Following his order, Uta and Tsukiyama ran back from where they came from, to find another entrance. "I don't want to fight you Kaiya but if you insist, then I have no other choice." He cracked his neck and stretched his large arms. Kaiya hit the ground with her kagune a few times like a dog wagging its tail out of excitement and pointed it at him. She ran towards him and slipped between his legs. Her kagune wandered around his right leg. She managed to pull him towards her and hit his face with her elbow. She then let go of his leg and jumped back and waited for him to attack. Yomo, refusing to release his kagune, approached her in a single jump and kicked her stomach. Instead of doing counter attacks, Kaiya only blocked his blows.

From further behind, instead of leaving, Uta and Tsukiyama took a moment to watch them fight. "She's holding back. Kaiya isn't the defensive kind of fighter. Her offense is her defense but she's holding back and only blocks his kicks." Uta observed them cautiously and finally decided to let them be. "Let's go", he said and pulled up the hood of his cape.

While fighting, Yomo and Kaiya were interrupted by a third individual. It was Take Hirako, a first class investigator known to be Arima's former subordinate. Both Yomo and Kaiya gritted their teeth as soon as they noticed him. Hirako pulled out his quinque and started swinging a large axe towards the two. Kaiya hissed and noticed that she and Yomo were cornered by him. "Isn't that the asshole who killed your sister?" She asked and hissed in anger. Yomo nodded and glared at him. "And I suppose he was with Arima when your family got killed". She nodded and clenched her fists. They both looked at each other and decided to fight Hirako together, instead of fighting each other.

Their movements were perfectly synchronized. While Yomo attacked Hirako and forced him to take a defensive position, Kaiya hit him with her kagune from behind and vice versa. They were fighting in perfect harmony. Yomo, still refusing to use his kagune received a blow on his face and hit his head on the wall. It took Kaiya a second to take a look back to check on him but before she could focus back on the fight, she felt the axe cut through her chest all the way down to her hips. She refused to scream out of pain but spat a large amount of blood and groaned in pain. She fell on her knees and looked down at her injury. Hirako took a few steps towards her and raised his axe to finish her off. " _What a dumb way to die..._ " She thought to herself and looked up at the shining edge of the axe. She kicked the investigator's stomach and pushed him away. Her strength was slowly fading away but she couldn't afford to die yet. She got up, stumbled on her feet and her knees were shaking. She looked at Yomo, half-conscious on the ground. "You've got to be kidding me. Get up, big man!" She yelled at him and pointed the investigator. She released her kagune and swung it towards Hirako. He avoided the first blow, but another one came right after and hit him hard. He shook his head and took off his helmet. The two gazed into each other's eyes in a dangerous way and waited for a minute. Her mask was still solid on her face, she sighed out of relief and cracked her finger. "You are a challenging one aren't you?" She laughed and doubled the size of her kagune. Her injury was still bleeding but she was still standing straight. Hirako suddenly changed his aim and rushed towards Yomo who was on the ground. He swung his axe towards him. Kaiya's eyes grew bigger and jumped in front of Yomo and caught the axe from the sharp edge. Her hand began to bleed and she used all her force to hold him back. Suddenly her kagune disappeared and she let out a loud scream; "NO!"

Forcefully, Hirako swung the axe around and pushed Kaiya aside. She fell down and tried to get up but she was too tired from the fight. Both her stomach and her hands were bleeding and the whole room became a bloodbath. "I guess I'll start with you first," the investigator said as he approached her. Once again, he raised his quinque and gathered his energy for a strong, direct hit. "I'll be waiting for you in hell. Fucking bastard". Kaiya hissed. She shut her eyes and waited for it to end. Yamori's words echoed in her head. "Death is inevitable. All you can do is push it away as long as you can fight but sooner or later it will come to you. Fight your opponents as if it was your last one". A sudden thud caught her attention and she opened her eyes to take a look. It was Yomo, standing on the top of Hirako, his hand around the investigator's neck. His raven mask was still on but through the mask, she could see his glowing red eyes, filled with rage. The investigator's quinque was on the floor, Kaiya got on her feet and picked it up with the last bit of strength left in her. She released her kagune once again and broke it into two. "Kill him Renji! That motherfucker killed your sister didn't he!?" She hissed and fell down on her knees again. Yomo got up and punched his face and knocked him unconscious. He lifted Kaiya up and carried her to the corner of the room. After putting her down, he started walking back to the exit that Uta and Tsukiyama took. "He's not the reason why I'm here. I have no intention to kill him... yet." Before leaving, he turned at Kaiya. "Don't get yourself killed", he warned her and left quickly in silence. Kaiya watched him leave in disbelief. After he left, the redhead looked down at her scar and waited for it to heal. "Fucking idiot...", she took another glance at the door and mumbled.

She managed to heal as much as she could and jumped of the window to climb up to the roof. From the top of the building, she could see the playroom's roof. She rushed towards it by jumping from one roof to another. She finally arrived at her destination, although from the window, she could see that it was too late. She knew something wasn't right. She entered the torture room and found Yamori's body. She knew this was the end for him. Kaneki was nowhere to be found and so she figured that he managed to beat down Yamori. She couldn't tell how but despite her state of shock, she was impressed. She wondered if Yomo and the others managed to help him escape or if he did it all by his own. She approached Yamori and kneeled down to check on him. She swiped off the tears on her cheeks and tried to hold herself from crying. She couldn't believe that he was dead. She got up on her feet and screamed. "You always pushed me to work harder. You never saw my true power and I've always been the little brat in your eyes. Not some prodigy but a burden that you couldn't get rid off!" She clenched her fists and continued, "well look who's alive now! Me! You old fuck... You can't die!" She grabbed the chair the chair that was on the floor and threw it across the room, broke it into pieces." She started walking away forcefully and thought that she heard a groan. She turned and looked back at him one last time. He was motionless, thinking that she just imagined it, she walked away. On her way back to the main building, to continue fighting, she ran into Kaneki who was walking with a leather mask on his face that hid his human eye.

His hair was whitened and there was a different look on his face; a more determined one, the look of a true fighter. "Nice hair, snowflake..." She teased him and the two kept walking together. He remained silent and glared at Kaiya. Suddenly, the redhead ghoul stopped walking and stood still. Kaneki stopped and turned at her. She took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm tired. So tired of this shit... Aogiri, CCG... Ghouls and humans killing each other to make the world a more livable place. To hell with that, I don't even give a shit anymore. I'm out...". She took off her mask and attached it to her belt. "Where will you go?" He asked. Kaiya shrugged and looked behind her. "I'm not sure yet... I guess I'll figure it out." She untied her messy ponytail and checked her hands. The bleeding stopped but her scars were still there. She grinned at him and suddenly started laughing. Kaneki couldn't tell why she was laughing but he kept watching her. "Good luck Ken Kaneki. You'll need it..." She winked at him. Her voice was trembling even though she forced herself to look uncaring, he could see through her. She looked broken and lost. Before leaving, she asked Kaneki a simple question. "Seeing Yamori's situation, I believe you changed your philosophy. Why?" Her question was quite simple although Kaneki couldn't find the words to express himself. "Devour or be devoured. Isn't that what you live by? Well, I can't keep getting hurt if I want to protect those I care for". Just like her question, Kaneki's answer was simple and brief. Kaiya's eyes suddenly turned back to a deep shade of yellow. She graciously smiled at him and started walking towards another direction. Kaneki watched her leave in silence. It was the same kind of silence that would dominate before the thunderstorms. He broke the silence, "good luck to you too. Kaiya Hiromai...".

" _Kaiya... She isn't born a monster, she became one. She is the living proof of life's cruelty; whether a victim or guilty. Now just an aimless soul of this world_ " Kaneki thought of her as he watched her leave.


	7. Weakened (Ch7)

CCG's raid on Aogiri was over and months have passed. Except for Yamori Oomori also known as "13th ward's Jason", every executive member of the Aogiri Tree made it out safe and sound. There was a tense silence dominating the whole city and Kaneki was long gone with the Aogiri. No one knew his whereabouts and Antique Café was ready to reopen. Just like Kaneki, Kaiya was nowhere to be found. She vanished into thin air just like everyone else but Yomo knew that she was no longer with the Aogiri because Yamori was dead. Despite her disappearance, she was the newest target of the CCG. During months of her disappearance, she killed many humans including investigators that weren't related to the Aogiri raid. She was an unleashed monster and the fact that she caught the CCG's attention was putting her in danger. She received the nickname "Vixen" on the news and her face was known by every investigator in the city. She was in a big trouble but after many murders, she went into hiding.

It was a rainy night, when Yomo received a call from Itori on his way back home. "Renji! It's about Kaiya... Can we meet?" She sounded serious. Yomo, annoyed, grumbled and agreed to meet her at Helter Skelter. He entered the bar and found Itori sitting alone behind the wooden counter of the bar. She was drinking blood from a wine glass and the bar was closed and she was the only person present in the big empty bar. The white haired ghoul sat in front of her and leaned on his elbows. "How can I help you, Itori?" He asked nicely, his voice was calm as usual. She pulled out her phone and showed him a call from an unknown number. "It was from her. She isn't well and I think she's losing it. The doves are looking for her and I can't reach her anymore. I think... She might get caught or worse." Itori wasn't the serious kind of person but if she looked that worried, she knew something wasn't right at all. "Do you know where she is?" Yomo asked. Itori shook her head, "I'm not sure." He thought of it for a moment and asked; "what exactly did she tell you?" The young woman stopped for a moment to recall Kaiya's exact words on the phone. She finally remembered. "She was mumbling something about her first home. She told me that she wanted to go back where it all started". And suddenly, it made sense to him. He asked Itori the address of her family's house before the Suzuki family raid and quickly left the bar.

Before Kaiya became Kaiya Hiromai, she was the eldest daughter of the one of the oldest families in the 4th ward, the Suzuki family. Her father was known for being a strong ghoul but also a kind and caring one. Yomo always thought that Kaiya's name was very ironic, due to her agressive personality that contradicted her name's meaning ; 'forgiveness '. She, among everyone else was the only person who never made peace with herself and everyone around her.

After a long drive, and a short walk from his car, he finally made it to the isolated mansion. The house was empty for a very long time but it remained in a good shape despite all the years. He looked up and observed the mansion and its details. It was a well constructed large white house, although the bright white paint faded through time and lack of maintenance. The Suzuki mansion was like a big sanctuary hidden between the trees of a large parc. It was a very special place back when the family members were still alive. He never thought that such a place would exist inside a big city like Tokyo. He didn't know much about the Suzuki family nor Kaiya's past but from what he learned through Itori, he knew that Kaiya came from a very wealthy family, like the Tsukiyama family but they were more discreet about their wealth. Itori and Kaiya were childhood friends before she left the 4th ward after her whole family including her parents and siblings were killed during a raid organized by the CCG. She, as the only survivor, changed her last name after she moved to the 13th ward and met Yamori. Back when they were teenagers, Kaiya would often come to the 4th ward to see Itori and Uta and that's how she met Yomo. As a teenager she was a tomboy who would always look for a good fight. That side of her never changed. Thinking of the past made Yomo smile; even back then, they didn't get along very well but deep down, he admired her for many different reasons.

He finally made it through the garden filled with dead trees and flowers and found himself inside a large hall. Paintings and portraits were still hung all over the walls. Some of them were destroyed. He didn't move a single muscle and tried to hear any noise that would come from her. It was dead silent. Despite the darkness and lack of any kind of noise, Yomo managed to follow her odour and finally made it to a small storage room in the upper floor. He opened the door and found Kaiya sitting in the corner. The storage room was small and dark. It had no window and there was a smell of blood all over the room. She looked weak and skinnier, her hair was messy as usual and her clothes were covered in dry blood. Dark circles were clearly visible under her eyes. She bit her lips and covered her face with her hands as she noticed Yomo's presence. Her whole body was shaking like a leaf. Yomo approached her and sat on the floor right next to her. Kaiya gazed into Yomo's eyes and started crying. "I... I don't see any point in it. I'm just so tired and done with this vicious circle." She leaned on Yomo's shoulder and kept crying. "The CCG is looking for you. You are a target now." He warned her and stroked her long red locks to console her. He didn't say anything, he only stood there and waited for her to explain herself. After sobbing for a moment, she wiped the tears and took a deep breath. "Only if I was strong back then, I could have protected them. I couldn't protect my family, I couldn't protect Yamori and now I'm on my own." She clenched her fist and lowered her head to hide her face with her bangs. "That's not something the Kaiya I knew would say. What's gotten into you?" He asked as if he didn't know the answer already. His voice was calming, he spoke quietly. Kaiya scoffed and gulped because she didn't have the energy nor the tears to cry more. "Don't play dumb with me Renji. I am ... not strong enough. Look at me... Crying like a little bitch". Her hair covered her face but he could sense how red her eyes were from all the tears she shed. "I still see the strong and hot-headed girl I've met many years ago. Crying doesn't show your weakness. It shows that you're still feeling things". He moved his fingers through her hair and moved them aside and lifted her chin with his other hand. She bit her lip and frowned, "well I hate it. I don't want to feel these things. I don't want to lose anything or anyone, anymore".

Yomo got up on his feet and grabbed Kaiya's skinny arms to pull her up. She buried her face into his chest, he wrapped his arms around her and the two stood there for a moment. "We can only live while we lose and you know this as well as I do. Yamori's death should have freed you from your debt. Not break you". He started walking towards the hallway while helping Kaiya take small steps. The way she walked; timidly and scared, made her look like a doe. For the first time, she looked so fragile and didn't try to hide it. "Yamori died because he wasn't strong enough... How can I consider myself strong, if the one person I looked up to, is killed during a fight?" Her voice was trembling and she was trying to hold back her tears. "That's up to you to figure it out. Now, you need to eat..." He pulled out a piece of meat from his pocket wrapped in a piece of paper. She refused to eat and threw it away. After a long and slow walk, they finally made it down the stairs. They walked silently, there was nothing more to talk about.

"Why are you helping me anyway?" Kaiya broke the silence and stopped walking. Her knees kept trembling as she tried to stay up with Yomo's help. He suddenly remembered the fight they had against the investigator Take Hirako and how she jumped in front of the investigator's quinque to protect Yomo. "I also have a debt to pay", he didn't give any more details. Kaiya couldn't recall to what he was referring to but she accepted his answer and sighed. Walking was no good for her so he decided to lift her. They left the isolated mansion and on their way to Yomo's car, Kaiya took one last look at her former home. She suddenly remembered the night her family was killed and started shaking. "I want to walk!" She suddenly yelled and asked Yomo to put her down. He nodded and gently put her down on her feet. Kaiya gazed at the moon that was the only light source in the area. From far away, she could hear sirens and cars approaching. Next to the Suzuki mansion, there was a lake between the road and the mansion. While passing from the side of the lake, Kaiya asked Yomo what time it was. "It's almost midnight. Why?" He didn't pay attention to the car noises and sirens that were approaching and focused on Kaiya. Without any answer to his question, she suddenly stopped walking and gave Yomo her fox mask. Yomo held her mask and tried to understand what she was doing. She pushed Yomo into the lake with the last bits of her energy. "Goodbye... I want you to live".

She stumbled towards the road and watched the cars approach. She held her hands up and waited for them to circle around her. Yomo was still under the water and she was glad that she could avoid putting him in danger, even in her last moments as a free ghoul. Five black cars parked around her and men in suit came out of them. They all pointed their guns at her. A Control Rc gas grenade was thrown at her to keep her from fighting back. Between the smoke of the gas, one of the suited men came towards her and hit her with a bat shaped quinque. She fell down on her knees while the investigator handcuffed her. "Commission of Counter Ghoul! You are heading straight to Cochlea, Vixen!" She didn't even try to fight back and accepted defeat.

As Yomo made it out of the water, to the surface, he noticed the CCG officers that cornered Kaiya and couldn't do anything about it. He couldn't afford fighting all of them, especially with the RC control gas that was released and without his mask he couldn't risk being captured or killed. He watched them take Kaiya away. After they left, he pulled himself out of the water and took a look at her mask. "Kaiya... What have you done?"


	8. Madness (Ch 8)

"Why Kaiya?" The same question has been going on in Yomo's head for over a week now. He replayed the scene in his mind over and over again but he just couldn't place why she did such a thing under any context. She was taken away right in front of his eyes. He wasn't supposed to care at all, it was her problem after all but for some reason, he couldn't get it off his mind. What was on her mind? Was she insane? Well... He already knew the answer of the last question for a very long time but still, there are so many words that can describe Kaiya Hiromai or Suzuki and idiot wasn't one of them.

Yoshimura, Touka and almost everyone at the Antique noticed how distracted he has been lately. Itori finally gave up and stopped worrying about her. "Let her be Renji. If she wants to get herself killed... Then perhaps, it'll just make everything so much easier for us", Itori's words were harsh and cruel, but he couldn't forget how disappointed she looked when the white haired ghoul told her about Kaiya's arrestation. He couldn't understand why she allowed herself to be taken away. He couldn't understand what was going on with her. Kaiya wasn't the kind of person who'd give up easily, she was too invested in her freedom to let go of it in such an easy way. In their last moment together, Yomo could see in her eyes how fed up she was. She wasn't in the right state of mind but her spirit wasn't broken; she was lost and tired but not hopeless. Even Nico, who wasn't an easy one to surprise, was utterly shocked by the news when he heard Yomo tell everything at Helter Skelter only a few days after the event. He knew where they took her and he only wished something far from worse for her. Neither Yomo nor Itori wanted to acknowledge the fact that she might already be dead but Yomo knew there was nothing for him to do.

Cochlea, the ghoul detention center located in the 23rd ward and owned by the CCG, that's where Kaiya was headed after her arrestation right outside the Suzuki mansion. They locked her inside a white cellar without a window and left her with no social interaction, she was injected with Rc suppressants and starved. Despite everything, she refused to talk to any investigator that interrogated her, tortured her and tried to intimidate her by threats. She finally broke her silence during a questioning she had with Kousuke Houji. "I will only speak to investigator Arima." She fell silent after declaring her demand. Investigator Houji sighed and tried to talk some sense into her. "Look. Your life has no meaning for us, you will be tortured until you die and then your body will be trash after we make a quinque out of that sweet tail of yours. No one will commemorate you, it'll be as if you never have existed. You're death will be painful and you'll be alone. But I can make sure this doesn't happen so you need to start speaking and cooperate with us". His threats and offers were meaningless to her, they only made her laugh. After a long laughter, she looked up and stared at the investigator with empty eyes and behind the emptiness, there still was a piece of light and danger left. "You call that 'torture'? Please... They're merely tickles, as if I haven't seen worse. I won't beg for my life but I will talk about Aogiri and Jason under one condition. Bring me Kishou Arima." Houji could see determination and stubbornness all over her face. After a moment of silence and long stares, he finally gave up and accepted her terms. "Ah hell. Arima will have to spare some of his precious time."

Another week has passed without food nor water and Houji didn't keep his word. Arima never came to talk to Kaiya and she was starting to go crazy. Her plan to find Arima was a failure. Torture,mind games and pressure was one thing but all those things mixed with hunger and loneliness made things worse. She felt the grasp of madness as hunger and despair started to take over her mind. Physical pain was nothing next to how much pain she felt psychologically. She was unstable and sooner or later, she was going to crack. She knew it, the officers in Cochlea knew it and Houji knew it. Kaiya was desperate to talk to Arima, she didn't really plan what she was going to tell him exactly, but she was hoping that she could ask him how he felt when he murdered her little baby brother who could barely walk. She imagined killing Arima so many times in her head, she just couldn't accept leaving this world without being able to snap his neck. The more she thought of how close she was to death, the more she was losing her mind. She started to lose the sense of time and space; she didn't know where she was, she didn't know what day it was, she'd only see the white walls and anonymous faces. Needles that would penetrate her eyes and an endless dizziness. All of a sudden, the monotonous days of hell ended with something unexpected.

On a cold winter morning, as the first snowflakes of the day started to fall, Yomo entered the Antique after a call from Yoshimura. The café hasn't opened yet and there was no one. Yomo went upstairs to the office where Yoshimura was waiting for him in front of the window. He was facing the window, watching the snowflakes while waiting for Yomo to take a seat on the couch. Another ghoul was present and it was no one else but Ken Kaneki. Other than his hair, something about him was different. Yomo could notice the way he looked; sad, strong, determined. Ken Kaneki was no longer the naive and lost kid that stumbled into the Antique Café as the clueless ghoul who wouldn't even hurt a fly. Before Yomo could start asking questions, Yoshimura explained the situation. "The Aogiri is planning to break into Cochlea in the 23rd ward. They want to free one of Yamori's associates...". Kaiya was the first person to come up to Yomo's mind; but he was wrong. "His name is Naki." And Yomo's thoughts were disrupted just like that. He wasn't hoping for anything but only for a minute, he thought that Kaiya was going to be alright. "What does it have to do with us?" Yomo asked, sceptically. That's when Kaneki gave Yomo a document, stolen from the CCG's archives. It had Kaiya's name on it, with a picture of her taken after she was imprisoned. She looked different from the last time he saw her. There still was a fire in her eyes, or some might call it hope. She wasn't smiling nor pouting. She was just looking with those big, yellow eyes of hers. It was a proof that she wasn't killed because the document was a very recent one.

"Yomo, Aogiri won't approve. Her, being set free after she turned her back on them. But I think she can be saved", the young boy said and gave him an assuring smile. Yoshimura nodded as an agreement but remained silent. "I don't get it. She is the kind of ghoul who stands against everything the Antique stands for. Why would you want me to go and save her?" Yomo was confused and couldn't understand why his boss was so interested in her. "Everybody deserves another chance. I think it would be a shame to see a ghoul with such potential become another weapon for the doves." Yoshimura's motives didn't seem to satisfy Yomo, however, he accepted saving her one last time. Anyone who knew Yoshimura a little bit could guess that the old man had some ulterior motives but Yomo didn't care about that. He agreed to go along with the plan. Not for Yoshimura and not for Itori but for Kaiya's own sake only. "Aogiri will be busy with the investigators and officers on the field, it will likely cause a distraction. That's when you can go and take her". Kaneki's plan was simple and clear. Yomo was good at being discreet and the mission was going to be a piece of cake. After delivering Kaiya's files to Yomo, Kaneki got up and left the café without saying anything more. Yomo watched him leave as Yoshimura turned back on the window and kept watching the snow, peacefully.

A loud explosion sound caught her attention. Weak and tired, still under the effect of the Rc suppressants, she got up and stared at the door. Things were starting to get blurry but she was still in a state of mind where she was aware of her surroundings. Despite everything, her senses were keen and she could hear and smell everything that was happening outside. Gunshots and screams were echoing and she could smell blood. Fresh blood that almost drove her insane. Her heartbeat increased and she was starting to see illusions. And while she started to suffocate out of nowhere, the door cracked and fell down with a single kick from outside. She tried to calm herself with deep breaths and looked up to see a familiar face or to be more specific, a familiar mask. She was still to worn out from the Rc suppressants and her heart wouldn't stop racing. She was hungry and delusional. She recognized Yomo and his smell. Despite having a very complicated love and hate relationship with him, she loved his smell. "Renji...", she was still sitting on the floor in a curled up position. Her face was hidden underneath her messy hair. "Care to give me a bite?" She looked up to him with red crazy eyes driven by hunger. The Rc suppressants were still on but Kaiya was raging out of hunger and madness. She got up and her bare feet and kicked him in the guts.

Yomo couldn't block her kick and found himself on the other side of the hall. His back against the wall, he gritted his teeth. "Why are you always making everything so hard?" He sighed and rolled his eyes behind his mask. Kaiya walked passed through the broken door of her cell and faced Yomo with a demonic smile on her face. She was out of control and unaware of what she was doing or how crazy she looked. Her mind was locked on the pain and hunger and everything else was just a blur. She cracked her middle finger and started running towards him. Yomo prepared himself for a fight and stretched his shoulders. Behind his mask, his eyes glowed a crimson red like two pieces of ruby and he released his kagune. "I'm sorry" he murmured. Two giant black wings came out of his back and those were the last things she saw before everything went to dark.


	9. Forgiveness - Kaiya

"Maman. Why am I named Kaiya?"

I remember asking the question to my mother for the first time; and the last one. We were sitting in the garden between the roses that she planted. They were red, just like her hair. She had beautiful long hair and every single lock of her wavy hair was soft like silk, always perfectly styled. She never looked worried nor sad, except for that day. There was a certain sorrow in her eyes and I knew something bad was going to happen but she was still perfect at hiding things from me and my little brother.  
"Kaiya... A beautiful name for a beautiful little girl!" She was giggling again and playing with my hair. She looked up with her deep green eyes and smiled at me. "It means forgiveness."

I was a curious brat. I guess I still am so I kept asking. "Why?" To be perfectly honest, forgiveness wasn't a concept, easy to understand for a little girl, especially a ghoul. My parents were great at living in harmony with humans and my father never ceased to treat everyone with equal kindness. That kindness of his brought death upon him and his family.

"Because no matter what happens, you should always move on and be able to love others. Forgiveness is the key for harmony and balance between us and humans. Despite every bad ghoul and every bad human, there is still some good left in this world." Mother's words first made sense to me. Of course they would; I mean why would a little girl see the bad in people ? Well... that changed in a single year.

Many of our servants were human but none of them really knew our true nature except for my father's righthand man Joseph. Joseph practically grew up with my father and was like an uncle to me and my brother. We loved him and he loved us. We thought that he loved us. Joseph had problems; drug, alcohol and gambling. Every time he messed up, my father would be there for him and he never ceased to help Joseph get back on his feet. However, Joseph's loyalty could easily be bought and none of us saw it until it was too late for us. Caught by the police while doing something illegal that I don't know of, to get away with... whatever he did. Joseph chose to sell us out and told the police that the wealthy Suzuki family was in reality, a family of ghouls. It took the doves a few months to gather enough information and organise a raid led by Arima Kishou. I still remember how our sleep was interrupted by the sirens and gunshots. My father entered my room and told me to hide inside the closet in the cellars to wait for my mother and Rio, my baby brother. Apparently the CCG had no information about the children, they only did their research on the parents so me and Rio had a chance for a bright future or at least, just a future. I still remember my father's face and every detail of it. His hair was black like charcoal and his eyes yellow like the bright sun, his face was well structured and had a perfectly trimmed moustache. He liked to keep his hair slicked back although a few strands always fell over his eyes. He never liked using his kagune, neither did my mother but that night before my father sent me to the cellars, I remember seeing their kagune. How big, how beautiful and how glorious they were... Mother had a large, fox shaped tail in different shades of crimson mixed with black and father's kagune, two large black wings made out of thrones that came out the back of his shoulders.

Inside the dark cellar, all I could hear was their screams, gunshots and a sudden shriek that came out of mother. "MY SON! NO!" Suddenly everything went silent and the rest of that night became a blur in my mind.

In the morning, when things became quieter, I went back to their room to see it for myself. Mother, father and Rio, their bodies were taken but from the amount of blood all over the house, I knew that they were gone forever. How could I ever forgive those monsters who did this to my family? What kind of demon would be able to kill a baby? I still ask those questions to myself from time to time. However, that night I learned something. To fight monsters, one must become a monster.

Many years later, after moving to the 13th ward and meeting Yamori, I finally knew what I needed to do in order to find a sense of happiness and peace; I wanted power and vengeance. I wanted bloodshed. Thanks to Yamori's help, I managed to track down Joseph. He still was the same piece of shit that betrayed my family's trust and he was pathetic. After the execution of the Suzuki family members, he went back his fucked up lifestyle and old habits and this time, he had no one to help him out of his misery. He wasn't my first kill, but thinking about how he screamed before I killed him still gives me the chills. God, it felt good. I didn't even eat him, I only killed him because I wanted to. I killed him for pleasure and loved every second of it while doing it. That was the moment when the paradox hit me like a hurricane. My name, who I was supposed to become and how I truly became were completely contradictory; forgiving, kind and gentle... Perhaps I would have those qualities if my parents were still alive but I see no point in being kind and forgiving in a world with no justice.

Humans. Ghouls. They all stole something precious to me... My family, my mentor, my faith, my hope and my innocence. I am tired and yet I still want to live. I still wonder sometimes if there are any ghouls who have never had anything stolen from them.


	10. Apology (Ch 10)

Things were blurry and Kaiya opened her eyes to find herself lying on a bed. She stared at the white ceiling for a while and tried to fill the blanks in her hazy memory. The last thing she remembered was hunger and pain. There was an unexplainable taste of blood in her mouth and she wasn't feeling hungry anymore. After a moment, she recognized a familiar smell that was all over the room. It smelled just like him; a nostalgic smell of fresh coffee and lavender. Unlike Yamori's house that reeked of blood and dead body, his house had a welcoming odour that made her feel safe. She heard footsteps approaching and her lips curled into a smile. "Why hello there, Raven".

Yomo entered the room with a cup of coffee in his hand. His right arm and neck were bandaged and he was stumbling. Kaiya, awake, turned her head towards him. She was covered with a large white blanket. Surprised by Yomo's injuries, she checked under the blanket and found herself covered in bandages as well. That's when it hit her and she remembered everything. Still numb from the fight, she couldn't feel any pain of her wounds. The white haired ghoul sat by her side on a wooden chair and sighed. Kaiya frowned and turned her head back up to stare at the ceiling. "I'm...". She wanted to apologize but the words wouldn't come out of her mouth. He knew exactly what she wanted to say and interrupted, "I know."

She clenched her fists under the blanket and breathed in the smell of coffee made by him. She fixed her eyes on the cup he was holding for a moment until he noticed her, staring.  
"Uh... do you want some?" He offered her his cup in a hesitant way. She, forcefully pulled herself and pressed her back against the cold wall behind the bed. After taking a sip from his cup, she remembered how good he was at making coffee.

There was an awkward silence in the room and they both didn't know what to say. Kaiya was the one who broke the silence with a simple question. "Why?"  
Yomo looked at her with blank eyes as she continued. "After all this. Why did you save me, Renji?" Nobody could answer such question, not even Yomo himself. However, he owed her an explanation. "Do you remember what you told me before the doves took you away?" She remembered every moment of that night but pretended that she didn't and shook her head. Yomo continued, "I want you to live. Those were your exact words and I feel the same way. Kaiya, I want you to live. For yourself-". He suddenly stopped and gazed into her eyes. "No. For me."

Kaiya stared at Yomo in shock without knowing what to say. Her hands started trembling and as she thought of every moment she tried to hurt him, she pulled her knees closer to her chest. She looked down as her hair hid her face and she bit her lower lip while trying to hold back her tears. Yomo pulled his chair closer to her bed and gently lifted up her chin to make her look at him. With his other hand, he pushed aside the strands of long red hair that shadowed her face. His gestures helped her calm down and assured her that he wasn't holding any grudge despite everything. Kaiya kept holding the cup of coffee with both her hands. She gathered her thoughts and looked outside the window with a sad smile on her face. "Life is funny isn't it? Perhaps in a different life, under different circumstances, if only we were human maybe things would be very different. Instead of sharing this coffee, we would perhaps be sharing something far more deep and meaningful."

She handed back the cup of coffee after taking another sip from it. Yomo took back the coffee from her hands and smiled at her with kindness in his eyes. "Who knows...", he said and leaned back on his chair.  
After a failed attempt for meeting her family's killer and spending time in prison under torture, isolation and starvation, Yomo's presence felt like a dream to her and she didn't want to break the moment with more questions. Instead of an awkward silence, there was now a soothing one.

Yomo put aside the half-empty cup on the floor then noticed that his shirt was now unbuttoned and the bandage around his chest was visible. Kaiya noticed the bandage while Yomo buttoned back his shirt. She lifted her arm and suddenly her whole body ached but she ignored the pain. She put her hand on Yomo's chest and felt the thick bandage underneath his white shirt. She could feel his increasing heartbeats, yet his face looked so calm. The words finally came out of her mouth. "I'm sorry".  
Yomo put both his hands on hers and looked at her. "For what?"  
"For everything".


	11. Old Friends (Ch 11)

After a whole week, Kaiya was finally fully healed and back on track. However, she was still lost and didn't know what to do with the freedom she gained. Without any mentor, nor anyone to guide her, she didn't know what to do with the free time she had. She decided to leave Yomo's place but she knew she didn't want to go back to her former house in the 11th ward. Without knowing where to go, she first took a shower and made herself some coffee and spent some time alone in the empty apartment. She didn't know where Yomo was but figured that he could be in the Antique Café. Before leaving his house for good, she breathed in the odour he left all over the place one last time and walked away. On her way out, as soon as she opened the door, she bumped into the tall white-haired young ghoul who was standing on the other side of the door. She looked up and fixed her hair, "I was about to leave". Yomo, with a straight face asked Kaiya to follow him. Puzzled from his mysterious attitude, she didn't ask any question and followed him to the car parked outside. There was a distance between the two ever since Kaiya apologized after waking up. She never addressed the issue and neither did Yomo; they kept pretending that nothing happened.

"Where exactly are we going?" She asked after Yomo started the car's engine. She looked outside for a while and noticed that it has been the first time that she went outside ever since she broke out of Cochlea. The sun was setting and the sky was divided in different shades of red, orange and purple. "The manager wants to talk to you. We waited for you to recover so that you he can talk to you", Yomo started driving slowly towards the 20th ward. Last time Kaiya had a car ride was when she was being taken away by the doves and she remembered how stupid her plan was. She didn't really know what has gotten into her but she was still feeling on edge after the whole adrenaline rush and depression that took away her reasoning. She was anxious but she kept breathing slowly to keep herself calm. It was a silent ride but there wasn't any tension between the two; only a deep silence that dominated the atmosphere. Since Yomo was a man of few words, Kaiya decided to be the one to break the silence. "So the old Yoshimura wants to talk to me... About what?" She asked and rose an eyebrow. Yomo kept his eyes on the rode and gave a brief answer. "He was the one who gave me the order to break you out of Cochlea. With Ken Kaneki's help of course", he kept driving and suddenly stopped the car in front of the red traffic light. Kaiya lowered her eyes and her face suddenly changed. Her face became more pale and she frowned as she sighed. "Oh... I thought you just wanted to-", she didn't finish her sentence and just added a simple, "nevermind". Hearing Ken Kaneki's name has awakened a certain curiosity in her; she wondered what became of him ever since she last saw him leaving Yamori's Playroom after the incident.

The rest of the ride was silent. They finally arrived at the 20th ward and Yomo parked his car behind the building next to the dark alley. Before entering the café, Kaiya noticed a figure watching them from the window of the 1st floor. She guessed that the figure could be no one else but the old Yoshimura since the place has closed already for the night. They entered from the front door and took another door to head upstairs. The manager was waiting for them in his office. The redhead ghoul entered the office, followed by Yomo right behind her.

"Kaiya. It's nice to see you. Last time we talked, you were looking for Rize Kamishiro, if my memory is not fooling me". The old ghoul greeted Kaiya like an old friend. Kaiya couldn't understand why he was being so nice towards her but she wasn't surprised by his kindness. Everybody knew Yoshimura as a kind man who would open his arms for anyone in need, including humans. Unlike everyone, Kaiya never trusted the old man and knew his actions always had ulterior motives; in her opinion, such a kind man couldn't live that long and she knew it because that kind of kindness was the reason of her father's death. She sat on the same couch and waited for Yoshimura to talk. Yomo left the two alone and went outside.

"You must have many questions but I assure you, I'm only calling you here to offer you a deal", the old man went straight to the point without making any smalltalk. Kaiya always liked straightforwards people who'd go directly to the point. She was intrigued by the offer he was going to make so she didn't say anything and waited for him to continue. "I want you to work for Antique. You don't have to be the monster that Yamori wanted you to become and you don't have to be on your own", his face looked sincere but Kaiya couldn't trust a single word he said. She started giggling; then the giggles became loud laughters. After she laughed for a straight two minutes, she wiped off the tears on her cheeks and fixed the old man with her almond shaped yellow eyes. "Are you serious? Why the hell would you want to help me?" She asked with an ironic tone. Yoshimura got off his chair and started walking towards the window. He looked outside and took a deep breath. "There was this old friend of mine who helped me a lot almost 24 years ago. I'm in debt and it's time for me to pay tribute to his memory." He turned his head towards Kaiya and smiled at her. There was an affection and sense of nostalgia in the way he looked at Kaiya. He walked back towards Kaiya and stood in front of her and bowed his head. "I failed your father and couldn't protect him nor his family. He asked me to take care of his children long before his death. Jason of the 13th ward got to you before I could but It's time for me to fulfill my end of the bargain". Kaiya had no idea that Yoshimura had a connection to her father. She frowned and looked away. Her eyes watered again but she forced herself to remain calm and kept a straight face. "It's stupid. The CCG knows my identity and you are asking me to serve coffee? There is a problem with your little plan", her voice trembled but there was a sarcastic tone in the way she said things. She scoffed and got up on her feet. Yoshimura put both his hands on her shoulders and tried to comfort in a way a family member would do. The fact that her father helped Yoshimura didn't surprise her at all but she wasn't interested in knowing the details. "I was thinking you could work with Yomo; gathering information and looking out for the other members of our group. Being completely alone in there times isn't always a good idea", Yoshimura proposed a simple job that wasn't too risky along with a piece of wisdom. He was right, loneliness would only make things harder, especially for a ghoul. However, Kaiya didn't feel ready to join another ghoul organization; even a peaceful one like the Antique Café. She thanked Yoshimura and kindly declined his offer. "I thank you for helping me escape Cochlea and your offer but I think there are things that I must figure out on my own before I get involved in things. After spending so much time with Yamori, I forgot what my main goal was and now I know. There are things that I must fulfill and avenge those I love". She wasn't talking about avenging Yamori's death, she was talking about avenging her family's death by killing Arima and Yoshimura knew exactly what she meant by goal.

"Vengeance won't bring you any peace nor happiness. Especially a man like Arima won't be an easy target and you're likely going to die", the old man warned Kaiya while respecting her wishes. Kaiya nodded and smiled. Unlike their last conversation, she was much more calm and polite towards Yoshimura. The old man couldn't help but notice how mature she has become in such a short amount of time. "Maybe it won't bring me any peace. But it's worth trying, don't you think?" Tears began to flow but she kept smiling at him with a deep sadness in her eyes. She finally started walking towards the door. Before leaving, she turned back at Yoshimura and thanked him again one last time. "Antique's doors will always be open for you. In case you change your mind", Yoshimura's words reassured Kaiya and reminded her that she wasn't completely alone. "Ah! Don't forget this. Yomo brought it to me after your arrest", the old ghoul threw an object that he pulled out of his desk's drawer. Kaiya caught the thing he threw and took a close look at it. It was the mask that Uta made her; the traditional fox mask. She put the mask inside the inner pocket of her coat, nodded at Yoshimura and left his sight.

The redhead ran into Yomo before leaving the café. He was sitting downstairs in front of the counter. Kaiya gave him a strange look and stood in front of him. "Do you remember when you told me that we live while losing things?" She asked and clenched her fists. Yomo kept drinking his coffee and nodded. Kaiya continued as he listened quietly, "well I think you're wrong. We don't lose things. Instead, we continue living while carrying the burden of their memory." Yomo sighed at what Kaiya had to say. He kept his usual straight face and didn't say anything but put his coffee on the wooden counter and got up on his feet. Kaiya was still hurt by what Yomo said in the car. It hurt her because she thought that he truly cared about her especially with what he said before she apologized. "You obviously don't care as much as I thought you were...", she rolled her eyes, quickly turned towards the door and started walking with quick footsteps. She opened the door with her right hand to throw herself outside but suddenly a large hand caught her left one and pulled her back inside. Yomo, right behind Kaiya, pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her petite figure. Shocked from the unexpected gesture, Kaiya didn't move a muscle and stood still between his arms. "I care", he said in a low voice.

He let out of his grasp and told her to follow him. Kaiya frowned and despite her complaints, she followed him anyway. They got in the car and Yomo started the engine once again. "Where are we going this time?" She asked while letting out a sigh. Yomo, with eyes locked on the road, gave a confusing answer. "I want you to meet someone".

Kaiya looked at him in confusion, "who?"

"You'll see."


	12. Hinami (Ch 12)

Yomo and Kaiya finally arrived to their destination. They were in front of a deserted building in the 6th ward. Still confused of what Yomo was looking for, Kaiya kept following him. After entering the building, they took the stairs and found themselves in front of a humbly decorated living room. She recognized a few familiar faces that were present in the room including Shuu Tsukiyama, Banjou and of course Ken Kaneki. Next to Ken, a little girl was sitting with a book in her hands. Kaiya gave Yomo a look and crossed her arms. "Renji, why exactly are we here?" The little girl ran into Yomo's arms and hugged him.

While the little girl hugged Yomo, the Gourmet walked towards Kaiya and greeted her. "Ah! Ma chérie, long time no see. I hope you didn't miss me too much", despite the fact that Kaiya despised Tsukiyama's snob attitude, the two always remained friendly towards each other. She heard rumours about his obsession for Ken Kaneki and never thought that the two would be sitting in the same living room. From the other side of the room, the young white haired ghoul, Ken gave Kaiya a strange look and smiled. There it was, the sad smile that always remained on the curled edge of his lips. Yomo finally introduced the little girl after they finished hugging each other. "Kaiya, I wanted you to meet Hinami Fueguchi." The little girl looked intimated by Kaiya's presence but hidden behind Yomo, she curiously observed the redhead. As soon as Kaiya heard the last name 'Fueguchi', she knew who she was. That little girl's father was the doctor who used to make Yamori's blades. However both the Doctor Fueguchi and his wife were killed by the doves. She looked at the little orphaned girl and suddenly remembered fractions of her own past. Kaiya was much younger than Hinami when she lost her parents but she could understand how the girl might have felt. She never was a fan of children but still, she bent down and smiled at Hinami and introduced herself. "Hello, my name is Kaiya. It's nice to meet you Hinami".

Yomo looked at Ken and asked, "do you mind if I take Hinami outside for a while?". Ken shook his head and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Not at all! Just be careful out there", he smiled. Kaiya, Yomo and Hinami left the building and walked to the nearest café. Kaiya tied her hear into a messy bun and pulled the hood of her sweatshirt to hide herself. They sat in the corner of a small coffee store hidden between two small streets of the 6th ward. Kaiya didn't understand what Yomo's aim was by introducing her a little girl. She decided to chat with Hinami to avoid an awkward silence. Yomo walked away to order the coffees from the counter and left the two alone. "So... Hinami. How did you end up here? With Ken Kaneki and the others, I mean...", as soon as she asked the question, Kaiya regretted it. She knew the answer and it was a stupid question but she asked it anyway. Hinami looked down and frowned. "Oh... Well, first I lived with Touka in the Antique and everyone was so nice to me. But after Ken decided to leave, I couldn't leave him alone! So I came here with him!" The little girl's answer wasn't what Kaiya expected but she thought it was cute that she cared so much about Ken. Kaiya tried to understand why she cared so much for someone who wasn't family so she kept questioning the little ghoul. "I mean, why?" She fixed her yellow eyes on the little girl and waited for Yomo to bring the coffees. She leaned on the back of her chair while Hinami kept sitting in an uncomfortable position. "I-... I felt so lonely after my parents were... killed. Everyone was so nice to me and they made me feel better. When I look at Big Brother [Ken], I see a sadness in him. That's why I don't want to leave his side!" She was looked sincere and determined. Kaiya admired the determination that she observed in Hinami. She knew the little ghoul's sad story and couldn't help but feel bad for her. She noticed how much Hinami reminded her of herself. She admired Hinami's strength because unlike Kaiya, there wasn't any desire of vengeance nor rage in Hinami. Kaiya couldn't understand why Hinami wasn't angry about her parents' death but she didn't want to question the little one and hurt her with bad memories.

Yomo came back with the coffees and the three sat together as they talked about simpler subjects. Hinami told Kaiya about the little bird she found when she lived in Antique and Kaiya told Hinami about the kitten she secretly owned when she was younger. While they talked, Kaiya couldn't help but admire how strong Hinami was by moving on from the tragedy she went through. Yomo, remained silent and listened the two while they talked. He looked amused by how the two got along. " _Kaiya, you've changed so much in the past few months..._ ", he thought while watching them.

After finishing their coffee, the three went back to the isolated building to bring Hinami back home. Before they headed out, Ken stopped Kaiya to talk. "You should go Renji... I'll be fine", she gave Yomo a nod. Yomo shook his head and went to his car to head back to the 20th ward. Ken asked Kaiya to come to the rooftop with him. Kaiya agreed and followed him up after taking the stairs of the fire escape. It was late at night and the city was oddly silent. "I'm sorry about Yamori's death", the young ghoul said while looking up to the moon. Kaiya, sitting next to Ken, shook her head and sighed. "I'm not holding any grudge. You did what you had to do and I guess Yamori only died because of his own incompetence. I guess he wasn't as strong as I thought he was... What a waste, right?" She smiled at Kaneki and patted his shoulder in a carefree way. Kaneki gaped at Kaiya, surprised by her lack of grief. He didn't have any knowledge of her relationship to Yamori but he thought she'd be more saddened by his violent death. "I can see how strong you've gotten since I first saw you. I wonder how far you'll go... Anyway, no hard feelings between us. Right?" She winked at Ken in an intimidating way and offered him her hand. Ken figured that a person like Kaiya could be useful for the future, so he shook her hand and smiled. "No hard feelings". He got up on his feet and helped Kaiya get back on her feet. "Wanna head back?" The white-haired ghoul said and turned at Kaiya who was standing on the edge of the roof. Kaiya smiled at him and put on her fox mask that she pulled out of her pocket. "I'm out of shape. I think I'm just gonna head out for a little hunt. I'll see you later... Eye-patch!" She made a peace sign with her right hand and jumped off the roof. Ken ran towards the spot she was standing and looked down to check on her but the redhead was gone already.

While walking around the deserted streets, Kaiya started looking for a prey. She could feel her old passionate self taking over again. There was a rush pumping through her veins and she was driven. Back to her usual self, she climbed up on the top of a street lamp and started jumping from the top of a lamp to another one like a child playing in a parc. She found herself in the deepest corners of the 13th ward as if her feet brought her there by old habits.

She suddenly recognized a smell and a familiar voice rang in her ears. "Hello sis! Miss me?" Kaiya had no doubt, it was his voice. She frowned and a demonic smirk appeared on her face. "Naki..." She said his name and turned back to face her old friend. The white-haired ghoul appeared out of nowhere; he was wearing his usual white suit. He cracked his middle finger and smirked. "I heard you left Aogiri... Have you lost your loyatly to Boss?" He hissed in anger like an angry snake, ready to attack. Kaiya shook her head, "Yamori is dead, Naki. He's dead because he wasn't strong enough. And I never was part of the Aogiri but I see that you managed your way out of Cochlea...". She jumped down from the street lamp and cracked her fingers as well. There was a dangerous look in her eyes, full of passion. She released her scorpion tail and whipped the ground with it in a menacing way. Naki's eyes suddenly became watery and his eyes turned red. "Don't say those things about our boss! HE IS STRONG!" He started sobbing out of anger and frustration, then released his kagune. Kaiya rolled her eyes and started walking towards Naki. She figured that Naki's presence could be caused by two things ; he was either sent by Aogiri as an act of vengeance for her lack of loyalty or Naki became truly insane. Both reasons sounded logical enough and Kaiya had no chance but to fight. She wasn't surprised that Naki was still the same whiny kid, obsessed with Yamori. Cochlea hasn't changed him at all.

"Oh brother... I haven't even eaten yet.. Oh well, a little fight won't hurt I guess. My kagune has been itchy anyway!" She pointed the end of her scorpion tail at Naki and started running towards him while preparing her fist for a heavy punch.


	13. Naki (Ch 13)

Just another kick and a hit from Kaiya's tail and Naki was down already. After multiple stabbings with her bikaku kagune's sharp end, she easily managed to win the fight. One of Kaiya's biggest advantages was the fact that she could easily manipulate the size of her kagune. She could have a single scorpion tail that is slim enough to move very quickly or be used as a whip, one that is large and tall enough for heavy hits or instead multiple scorpion tails that looked like the many heads of a mythological Hydra and do multiple attacks at the same time.

His kagune destroyed, Naki fell on his knees and tears began to flow through his cheeks. Kaiya approached him and sighed as her tail disappeared and her eyes became normal again. Her knuckles were bleeding but despite that, she was in a good shape. "Get up Naki. I'm not going to kill you for being an idiot", she laughed and continued, "I'd love to but I won't". Naki started crying again while looking at his wounds that already started healing slowly. Kaiya sat next to Naki, on the ground and patted his shoulder while trying to console him. "You can't just try to kill me even if it's what Aogiri asked you to do. Fighting me won't bring Yamori back." She gave him a piece of tissue that she pulled out of her pocket and gave it to him. While Naki blew his nose and kept crying, Kaiya took off her mask and put it back inside her jacket's pocket. After blowing his nose, he looked up to Kaiya with his light crimson eyes and frowned. "You didn't even protect him! You're not worth being his apprentice!" He was angry and still in grief due to Yamori's death. Kaiya, angry, got back up on her feet as her face turned red. "DID HE LOOKED LIKE HE NEEDED ANY PROTECTION?" She yelled at Naki and scolded him like he was a child. Despite Naki being older than Kaiya, she always has been more mature. They've known each other for a very long time and became like brother and sister even though he was one of the weirdest ghouls she has ever met. Naki didn't say anything and kept crying while yelling Yamori's name. She never liked whiny types but despite all, she didn't want to leave Naki alone. She wanted to tell Naki that Yamori was dead because he allowed himself to die and that it was his fault and his only but she chose to remain silent and didn't rub any salt on the wounds of his heart. However, her thoughts haven't changed much. She kept believing that weakness was the worst and that's why the weak will never survive in such world.

"I feel so lonely... I miss him," Naki got up on his feet with Kaiya's help and hugged her. He was supposed to kill her but the fear of loneliness took over his sense of duty towards Aogiri. "I know you do. I'm sorry you couldn't see him after escaping Cochlea", she kept consoling him and gave him an assuring look with a warm smile. Naki looked at her in a cunning way mixed with some curiosity and surprise. "I heard you also spent some time in there", he said and laughed. Kaiya knew exactly why it made him laugh. After being so careful to keep her identity hidden, she got caught because of her own weakness; the desire of vengeance and sense of being lost. She chuckled and hid her embarrassment. "Thankfully I didn't stay for too long. You might as well say, a raven saved me". Naki didn't understand her metaphor and stared at her with blank eyes. She scratched the back of her head and sighed then rolled her eyes with disappointment.

A sudden phone call interrupted the two. Naki answered his phone and then hung up without saying anything. He started walking away towards the darkest corners of the alley. Before completely merging with the darkness, he turned at Kaiya one last time. "Aogiri sent me because they weren't happy with you leaving. I don't want to kill you, now that the boss is gone, it's just you, me and the rest of the white suits." He smiled at Kaiya and wiped the tears off the corners of his eyes. He fixed his white hair and his white suit that was covered in his own blood. His wounds were already in a better shape but he still looked worn off from their fight. Kaiya shrugged and giggled. "Well, you technically failed at killing me so you can't really do it even if you wanted to. But thanks, Naki. I'll find a way to get back at Eto's good graces, so don't worry. I'll see you around". She waved at the young ghoul while he disappeared into the darkness.

She walked into the deepest sets of the 13th to find herself some food. She never was fan of Yamori's ways of 'getting stronger'. There were some things done by Yamori that she refused to follow such as cannibalism. However, the last few months have weakened her and she could feel that a bigger fight was approaching. With her identity revealed, she was now obliged to be much more cautious and definitely stronger. She noticed a few ghouls feeding in one of the isolated corners. A devious smirk appeared on her face as her mind was getting filled with awful thoughts. She decided that it was time for her to violate one of the ultimate taboos between ghouls. She put on her mask once again and approached the ghouls as she whispered to herself. "I guess I'll be having an _hors d'oeuvre_ "...

A week later :

Ken Kaneki walked into Uta's store. He looked lost in his thoughts but also very determined. Uta, while working on a new mask, noticed Kaneki's presence and looked up and greeted his favourite customer. "Ken-kun? How can I help you?" He asked with his usual calm voice. Kaneki, with eyes locked on Uta, clenched his fists and spat out his demand. "I need to know more about , Yomo and their connection to the Aogiri!"

Uta stared at Kaneki for a moment and tried to find the connection between the two ghouls and the Aogiri. He then took a deep breath and pointed the chair. "Well... I don't know much about Yoshimura. He is the chief of the 20th ward, moved there almost 10 years ago and opened the Antique café. He is mainly a peacekeeper in the area but that's all...". Kaneki didn't look satisfied by Uta's answer and looked down, unsatisfied and disappointed. Uta continued, "What makes you think there is any connection between those two and Aogiri?"

"Well... I saw a few days ago... and I saw that Rize is alive. I also saw... Yomo leaving Kanou's lab with Rize. The Doctor made some assumptions and I just don't get it.. Everybody is hiding something from me". He looked completely lost and upset. Uta sighed and stretched his back in a carefree way. "Since you are a special customer so I'd like to be some help to you. You are dangerous and are always wavering unsteadily, so everyone can't take their eyes off you. That includes the people hoping you won't fail, and the people waiting for the instance that you do." Under normal circumstances, Uta would never give any information about his customers but because of his big curiosity towards Kaneki, he decided to make an exception. He smiled and tied up his black hair, styled into an undercut.

"Unlike Yoshimura, I have more things to say about Yomo. We weren't even 18...". Kaneki gave all his attention to Uta, as the mask-maker continued to talk... "Me, Itori, Renji and Kaiya go way back. Well at first it was just me, Itori and Kaiya. She didn't live in the 4th but she'd hang around the area a lot like an stray cat. I was the leader of the 4th ward. Not because I fought for it but because I was strong... and one day Renji came, like a solitary wanderer -"

(To be continued)


	14. The fox and the raven (Ch 14)

(image belongs to my current obsession Chiara Bautista/pinterest)

FROM UTA'S POV :

At first, Renji and I used to fight a lot. But from what I noticed, he always held back during our fights as if we both didn't want one of us to end up dead. Then a while after we started to become good friends. You probably noticed that he isn't much of a talker, Ken. But Renji would often go on the rooftop, sit there and watch the city. That's how I came up with the idea for his mask : a raven. Anyway, I never saw his full potential until I saw him fight with Arima. But I'll come to that later. First, you need to know a few things about us.

The 4th ward was a much more dangerous place because it was filled with doves. I was the leader of the ghouls in the area and we were doing fine until Arima and his squad were sent by the CCG headquarters. That's when things became more complicated. Even though, Kaiya lived in the 13th ward, she'd often appear, help us around to fight with the doves and disappear again. I must admit I was glad to have her, there indeed was a fire inside her; there still is. But do you know why I made her a fox mask? Well that is because of her personality. She does remind me of you to be honest. There are two kinds of fox spirits (kitsune) in the mythology : zenko and yako. Kaiya is the kind of person that can be nice but only on the outside. She wouldn't show any bitterness if you don't show her your weakness. But she can also be very malicious and mischievous. That's what I like in her, the fact that she can be a compassionate demon. Also the redhair inspired me but it's not solely that. Anyway, back to our story with Renji.

With Arima's arrival, things were starting to get more difficult for us. Renji asked me specifically to be the one to kill Arima. I could see the determination in his eyes. He told me that his sister was the only person left after his older brother and parents were killed. But the whole orphan thing isn't rare among us, the ghouls. He sure loved his sister, enough to take such a huge risk against a strong opponent. I agreed to help him kill Arima so we began our plan. But Renji wasn't the only person interesting in killing Arima. When she heard that I allowed Renji to be the one to kill the 'CCG's reaper', Kaiya flipped. She was really nice towards Renji. Itori even had a theory that the two would end up together. They were so similar and different at the same time. Both were burnt by the desire of vengeance and anger, there was a special strength inside the two. However, Kaiya being an extrovert and Renji being an introvert; things were interesting to observe from my point of view. Anyway, after Renji insisted on being the one to kill Arima, their whole friendship became much more complicated.

Do you know the fable of the fox and the raven, Ken-kun? Allow me to tell you the story; a raven has found a piece of cheese and retired to a branch to eat it. The fox, mischievous and cunning, wants it for itself and flatters the raven. The raven lets out a caw and the piece of cheese falls and so the fox catches it and runs away. Well this is the thing that basically happened during the fight with Arima but not entirely.

After eliminating a few members of Arima's squad, the reaper finally appeared. Renji lost it and attacked the investigator. However, a third individual was much faster than he was. It was no one else but Kaiya. She jumped between Arima and Yomo, out of nowhere and even managed to hit Arima in a single blow. But that wasn't enough to take down such a talented fighter. That's when Yomo raged and started fighting without holding back. Kaiya on the other hand was on a whole different level, she always has been a vicious one. I was on the other side of the area while watching the whole fight. I noticed another ghoul observing us from the top of a building and now that I'm thinking, I'm pretty sure that was Jason of the 13th ward. Anyway, even though Kaiya was strong, she wasn't strong enough to take down Arima. Instead, she was the one who got hurt the most. The investigator managed to leave a large and deep cut from her neck, down to her hips with his quinque. She fell and we all thought it'd be over for her. Before she was about to get beheaded, Renji showed his true power and distracted Arima. He continued to fight but it didn't take him long to get heavily injured as well. And before Arima could do the final blow that'd kill Renji, another ghoul appeared. It was the owl. He appeared, took Yomo with him and disappeared.

With the ghoul who took Yomo away, we also left the place and took Kaiya with us. For some reason, she didn't die from her injury. Of course that ghoul was the one and only Mr. Yoshimura. After he left, months later, Yomo started working at the Antique Café and something that Yoshimura did or said softened him, a lot. The young, hot-headed ghoul suddenly became a much more peaceful one. Kaiya, on the other hand, remained the same.

In my opinion she was in a dilemma because she had to choose between Yomo's wish and her own desire of vengeance. In the end, she chose her own interest but lost a good friend because of it. After her injuries fully healed, she stayed in the 4th ward with Itori for a while.. She never said why but her stay lasted much longer than any of us expected. I think she waited for Yomo to come back and when he never did; she returned to the 13th ward. That's one of the reasons why their relation became much more complicated and also bitter. The whole story didn't only change Yomo but it also changed Kaiya. She became much more reckless. I didn't see her for a long time but when she came back, there was a different look in her eyes. It was the look of a ravenous beast, restless for bloodshed and chaos. She stopped fighting for survival and she began to fight for pleasure.

I think you should go and talk to Yomo and Yoshimura, I'm sure they will tell you more. Try to avoid the subject with Kaiya, I don't think she'll be as calm as the other two, if you bring it up. Well, she isn't around anyway, I haven't seen her for more than a week I think. But you know the stray cats, they come and they go; you never really know where they belong.


	15. Ghosts from the past (Ch 15)

Blood dripping. She could hear every single drop hit the ground. The sticky texture of drying blood and the deep crimson illuminated by the moonlight. However, the blood spilled wasn't just any blood, it was ghoul blood. She looked down at the pile of corpse, some devoured and some just cut down into pieces. Kaiya, fixed her long red hair as her kakugan disappeared and her deep yellow eyes appeared. Her mouth, covered in blood, her lips curled into a smile as she laughed with satisfaction. She overstepped her own rules and started devouring her own kin only to satisfy her own apetite for power. The 13th area was more calm nowadays because of Jason's death but it still was filled with ghouls around, so she knew no investigator would bother her. She felt a presence behind her but when she turned around, there was no one but shadows of the deep, dark alleys. She aimlessly walked towards one of the alleys and started hearing cracks. They sounded like someone cracking their fingers and it reminded her of Yamori.

"Hello there. Did you miss me kid?" There was no doubt. It was his voice. Kaiya's eyes grew bigger and her heart started beating faster. She started looking around in panic but couldn't see anyone. Her gaze suddenly went towards the trash cans behind a building and from the shadows, an old face has appeared. It was no one else but Yamori, approaching her in silent footsteps with a smirk on his face. He opened his arms like a father greeting his child and laughed. "You should see your face! I would torture millions only to see such a vulnerable look! How amusing." He cracked his finger again and stopped right in front of Kaiya. She looked up and remembered how tall he was. She looked like a helpless child next to him. She wiped the blood off the sides of her lips and kept staring at Yamori in disbelief.

"No fucking way. You are dead. I saw you!" She yelled and took a few steps back. She wasn't scared but she was in a state of shock. Kaiya, who is known for being cold-blooded under pressure, became once again the little lost girl that she used to be when she first arrived at the 13th ward. She started pinching her cheeks to make sure she wasn't dreaming but the pain was real and it wasn't a dream. Yamori kept laughing at her situation but when she began to cry silently, his hysterical laughs turned into sighs. "Look at the mess you've become. You idiot child! Did you come back to your senses after being arrested by doves!?" He narrowed his eyes and hissed at her. "You remember what I told you when I first beat the crap out of you?"

Suddenly Kaiya remembered the night she met Yamori and his voiced echoed in her head. "In this world, you either devour or be devoured. There's no middle ground, little girl." Those were his exact words. She looked down at the pile of corpses behind Yamori and suddenly it clicked her. She didn't know whether he was really alive or just an illusion of her mind but both possibilities were enough to make her feel tense. She clenched her fists and took a deep breath. Yamori looked behind him to take a look at the dead bodies her disciple left behind. He looked content from the scene, the smell of blood and the horrible image left in the faces of her victims. "I see you finally understood what I meant that night. You can live like a king or you can die like a weak little kitten. I remember those fiery yellow eyes of yours and the moment I saw your anger, I knew that there was a potential in you." He turned around and started walking back into the shadows. Without even looking back at Kaiya, he kept talking. "I'll see you around kiddo. And you better impress me or I'll show you what true power is."

He disappeared into darkness and Kaiya stood in the same spot for a moment and stared at nothingness. She then shook her head to get back to her senses and started walking away from the scene and left the bodies behind her. "I definitely need a drink...". She pulled up her hoodie and blended into the crowd after reaching the main avenue.

The redhead ghoul entered through the doors of Helter Skelter as if she owned the place. One the other side of the bar, Uta, Itori and Yomo were sitting near the counter. Both Uta and Itori stared at Kaiya in disbelief like they just saw a ghost. Yomo, on the other hand, looked calm as usual. "Kai-chan!" Itori hopped off her chair and jumped onto Kaiya. She was cheerful as usual. Kaiya felt relieved for seeing her friends. Itori first looked at Kaiya to make sure she was really there and started shaking her. "What the hell!? You have to tell me everything!" She yelled in excitement and pulled her towards the counter. Kaiya sat on a stool next to Uta and asked Itori for a big glass of bloodwine. Her face was pale as snow and she still looked like she was in shock.

"You look like a mess." Uta was being straightforward as usual. Kaiya first gazed at him with blank eyes then chuckled. "No shit Sherlock... I just went to hell and came back, what do you expect?" She was making a reference to everything that happened in the past few months. Uta, as if the last few months never happened, started chatting with Kaiya in a nonchalant way. Yomo on the other hand, remained silent and kept observing Kaiya. Itori served Kaiya a glass that she pulled out of the shelf behind her. Kaiya first chugged the glass then grabbed the whole bottle that was standing in front of Itori and started taking more humble sips.

"She really did went through hell..." Both Uta and Itori observed Kaiya. After few more sips of her wine, her face began to blush and she was more relaxed. She turned her gaze towards Yomo and passed him the bottle. "If we're drinking. You're drinking with us!" She sounded a bit tipsy but her pushy attitude was still the same and the Kaiya everyone knew was back again. Yomo sighed and stared at Itori in a disappointed way. "Why are you even allowing her to drink? She drinks like a fish and gets drunk on free booze."

Yomo's remark made Itori laugh. "Oh Renji! Kaiya is like a family to me and friends always share. Plus, she is much more fun when she's drunk!" The way Itori said the word 'family' made Kaiya smile. She looked back at Yomo and scoffed. "At least I don't get drunk on a single sip!" This was a call for a challenge and Yomo knew it. He sighed once again and took the bottle that Kaiya offered. He smelled the liquid and frowned. He wasn't in any mood for drinking so he put the bottle back on its place and remained silent.

Suddenly Yomo's face became more serious. He thought of the conversation he had with Ken before coming to the bar.

"Ken came to visit me the other day, he had questions to ask me about me and Yoshimura. Thanks to you Uta." The white-haired ghoul turned his gaze at Uta. The mask-maker, without even paying attention to Yomo, started licking the eyeball that was placed on a plate in front of him. While licking the eyeball like it was a lollipop, he started speaking with his everyday soft voice. "Yeah... I thought he deserved some answers."

A specific question that Ken asked caught Yomo's attention. " _Yomo... Why are you still friends with a person like Kaiya? From what I saw and heard, she is nothing but trouble to you._ " Ken's question remained unanswered. He knew what Ken meant by 'a person like her' but even Yomo didn't know the answer. There was one thing that he knew and that was the unexplainable thing he felt towards her. For him, Kaiya wasn't a monster but a victim of many unfortunate events and bad influences that made her who she is. Behind her carefree attitude and vicious yet heartwarming smile, he could see some good in her. He couldn't hate her even if he wanted to. Watching over her became a bad habit of his. In his opinion, she was like a flickering light. Behind the strength that she uses as a mask, she was falling apart and he felt ready to do anything to avoid her fall. They were standing in the same room and there she was, chatting like nothing was wrong. He knew something was wrong, he could feel it just by looking at her but he was lost in his thoughts. He couldn't do anything but remain silent.

"Snowflake? How is he by the way? I noticed how strong Kaneki has gotten ever since he..." Kaiya suddenly thought of Yamori and her hands began to shake once again. She was going to refer to his fight with Yamori but she remembered seeing Yamori's dead body in his playroom and thought of the conversation she had with him before coming to the bar. She couldn't complete her sentence and bit her lower lip. "Kai-chan? Are you alright?" Itori asked in a concerned way. Kaiya shook her head and smiled at Itori. "Oh! I was just thinking about something..." That was the smile she would make anytime she felt bad or uneasy. It was the kind of smile that would warm anyone's heart but everyone present in the bar knew what that smile meant. They didn't push her to talk and let go of the subject.

Uta, continued to talk. "I find Ken-kun very interesting. He does remind me of you Kai. He isn't as independent as you are but I think there is a very dark part of him that lurks deep inside. It'd be quite a show if you two were in a fight." Uta's remark was a very honest one, he never held his tongue and always mentioned Kaiya's dark side. That was the thing that he loved about her ; Uta was genuinely intrigued by Kaiya's complex personality from the moment they have met.

"Oh yeah?" Kaiya scoffed and started playing with her empty glass.

"Oh! I would love to see that!" Itori exclaimed and broke the slight tension that dominated the atmosphere.

After hours of conversing on different subjects, Itori decided to close the bar. Kaiya asked Uta if she could crash in his workshop. He nodded and the two left. Itori and Yomo stood alone in the bar for a while. Itori broke the silence with a concerned look on her face. "Do you think she's alright?" Itori's concerns were genuine and she knew something wasn't right. Yomo shook his head and frowned. "I'm not sure but I have a really bad feeling. Did you smell it too?"

Itori nodded and leaned on the counter. "Yeah... I think she's been eating... ghouls."


	16. The beginning of everything (Ch 16)

"Kaaaiiii-chan!" Itori skipped towards Kaiya in a cheerful way. Kaiya was only eleven years-old and Itori was sixteen. Despite their big age difference, both girls have always got along. Kaiya recently started hanging out in the 4th ward again after disappearing for a long time. Both Itori and Uta always treated her like a little sister and she liked it very much but never showed it. Even when she was younger, Kaiya was good a hiding her feelings. She hid them so well that even she would sometimes forget that they existed. Back then, Uta gave her the nickname "stray" because of her disappearance and reappearance in the area. Although she was really young, Kaiya was already a great fighter and she always helped Uta and his men when they fought the investigators. Unlike many ghouls around her age, Kaiya was already great at using her kagune and mastered it very quickly although no one truly knew her story except for Itori. All they knew was that she was related to the big Suzuki mansion and the wealthy family, however, under Uta's protection, nobody bothered her with the subject. Kaiya was a mystery for everyone and she always remained that until a certain young ghoul's to whom she opened her heart.

The silver-haired ghoul found himself surrounded by Uta and his companions in the corners of the 4th ward. His immovable stone-like glare was fixed on Uta, who stood on the top of a container box. Back then, his hair color was much lighter, swept back, and at times kept down with a hairband and he didn't have his famous tattoos but he still had a very intimidating appearance. "Well, well, well would you look at that? A lost little bird coming to my cage? Are you the one who has been stealing our food from the stocks?" A wicked smiled appeared on Uta's face as he threatened the silver-haired one. However, he turned his cold stare towards Kaiya, who stood behind Uta and observed him from distance. Her lips curled into a smile and that was the first time he saw that smile, the one that was going to make his life a big mess.

"I think you should deal with this in a fight. Just the two of you and if he's strong enough, just let him live. He might become useful." Kaiya whispered in Uta's ear and proposed a simple solution. Uta liked her idea so he invited the mysterious ghoul to a fight. Both ghouls looked quite strong but everyone had their hopes up for Uta since he was the leader of the ward. Itori and Kaiya stood in a distance and watched them with pleasure. "That white-haired one is cute don't you think Kai-chan?" Itori observed the new ghoul with a smirk and turned to Kaiya. Kaiya's face turned red as she started babbling in an awkward way. "I-Itori! How would I know!?" Itori always liked teasing Kaiya with boys and theories about her love life and Kaiya always felt uneasy with it. She always tried to remind Itori that she wasn't interested in those things, which was quite normal for a girl her age. The fight ended in a tie, both Uta and the mysterious one were injured and there was no winner. Everybody looked surprised by how the fight ended, especially by the fact that neither of them used the kagunes. They only used their fists and they still looked quite strong.

The silver-haired ghoul left their sight in a blink of an eye when the fight ended. Uta started walking back towards Itori and Kaiya while trying to fix his dislocated shoulder. "That one isn't bad. He'll be back, I'm sure of it..." He tried to keep his cool with an unimpressed attitude but both Itori and Kaiya knew that he was really angry by how the fight ended.

Kaiya noticed how that ghoul's odour was so different. In a strange way that even she couldn't explain, she liked it. She followed the smell after leaving Uta, Itori and the others' side and finally found herself in on the rooftop of an abandoned building where there was an amazing view over the whole 4th ward and even the rest of the city. She saw the white-haired ghoul sitting on large wooden cargo boxes so she approached him with silent footsteps. She focused on his smell and breathed in the odour of lavander and something else that she couldn't truly define. It was a very vague smell, like a mix of coffee grains and blood. In Kaiya's opinion, everyone had a unique odour that would describe their personality and she was really sensitive with that. She could smell and see the difference between every odour except for herself. She couldn't really differentiate her own smell. Unlike Yamori, Uta and even Itori, this ghoul's odour was making Kaiya feel good and safe. She watched him from behind and became lost in her thoughts.

" _He looks like he could be 16 or 17 perhaps... He looks really sad but he must be strong. I can see it through him, his anger and the fire inside him._ " While thinking about who he could be, her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by his voice. "Are you going to keep staring at me?" The ghoul turned his head and looked at her with a cold immovable stare. She gulped and blushed but then her face turned back to normal and she smiled at him. She didn't find him intimidating at all, on the contrary, she was interested by him. She hopped on his side in a cheerful way and looked up with her big yellow eyes. "What's your name?"

He felt like he could trust her. She had the face of an angel and she was just a little girl, so he thought to himself ' _what could go wrong?_ '. Little did he know, that was a smile of a wolf in a sheep's clothing."Ren... Renji Yomo"

"Well! Renji Yomo, my name is Kaiya... Hiromai!" After changing her real last name, Kaiya chose to take Yamori's name but in reverse just to make a statement out of it. Some people would notice and some wouldn't. Nobody really knew where she went off to whenever she left the 4th ward but rumours were spread around about a young redhead ghoul with yellow eyes who became a protege of a dangerous ghoul known as 'Jason of the 13th ward'. Either way, in the end, everybody knew who she was, from the wicked girl she became.

Under that specific sunset, at that time, on that rooftop, Kaiya took a liking to Renji and she thought he did too. First, she just wanted to know if he was worth knowing or not, but the more they spent time together, the more they started sharing things. Yomo and Kaiya started meeting up in that rooftop at least once a week and most of the time, they'd just watch the view in silence but sometimes, they'd have pleasant conversations about different things. Yomo wasn't a very talkative person so Kaiya would mostly talk about unimportant subjects like books she read or weird dreams she'd have. Many years have passed and Kaiya became the first person who managed to reach Yomo, in some way.

His cold gaze became more soft every time he looked at her. He still was a very hot-headed person that'd seek for fights to let out his anger but he would always change his fiery attitude whenever he was with her. She never ceased to tease him and challenge him into fights but many people have noticed his softer side whenever he was with her. He became part of the group in the 4th ward and despite being very silent and private, he was appreciated by many including Itori and Uta. Kaiya would come and go and she enjoyed every moment she spent with Yomo.

Years later, Kaiya and Yomo were once again were on the same rooftop, just watching the view until Kaiya broke the peaceful silence with a personal question. "Renji, do you have any dreams for the future or a future that you dreamed of if you were living a different life?" Yomo first looked at her with blank eyes without knowing what to say. He never really thought of the future nor what he wanted but after giving it a thought, he managed to give her an answer that he believed was an honest one. "I think I'd like to live a peaceful life and maybe have a family of my own one day whether it's in this life or in a different one." His answer made Kaiya smile, her usual wicked smile that can both warm someone's heart and make cold sweats go down their spine. She turned her gaze to the sunset that they were watching and she shrugged. "I don't really have any specific dream about the future. I think I just want to be as independent as I can but...". She suddenly turned her gaze from the sunset to meet his and her eyes sparkled like a cat's would. "When I grow up, I'd like to marry you!" Yomo's face suddenly turned red by what she said and he tried to avoid the eye-contact by looking away. He felt really embarrassed and he didn't know what to say. Kaiya suddenly bursted out a laughter and yelled. "I'm just kidding! Don't take everything so seriously!"

They were starting to become good friends. She cared for him and he cared for her until an unexpected guest arrived in the 4th ward. That was the one and only young investigator Kishou Arima.

Kaiya recognized his smell and his face as soon as she saw him coming. She wasn't the only one who recognized 'CCG's Reaper'. Yomo was also among the people who had an unfinished business with Arima and that was the moment when their friendship fell in rupture between a thirst for blood and vengeance.

9 years after the day Yomo came to the 4th ward, the fours ghouls remained friends and they'd still care for each other very much. However, both Kaiya and Yomo changed. While he became much more calm and peaceful, Kaiya became more violent and cold-blooded. Things became so much more complicated between the Vixen and the Raven.


	17. Monster (Ch 17)

" _Une oasis d'horreur dans un désert d'ennui!_ "  
" _An oasis of horror in a desert of boredom_."  
\- Le Voyage, Baudelaire

Things were quiet in Tokyo for a while. Months have passed and it was a calm morning, the city was surrounded by a tense silence. It was the silence before a hurricane ; chaos that was about to rip the city apart. Rumour had it, the CCG planned a big raid on a certain café in the 20th ward named the Antique. A café that was believed, owned by an old man. The investigators managed to gather enough proof to know that the café belonged to this old man who happened to be the infamous "one-eyed owl".

Yoshimura gathered enough information and knew the doves were going to come with an army behind them to take down the "one-eyed owl". Little they knew, the ghoul 'owl' was in fact his child and not him. But it was too late for him to clean up such a mess. He ordered Yomo to take Touka and Nishiki with him and destroy every evidence that could point out his dear employees and their true identities. The time of redemption for Yoshimura was getting closer and closer every day. After cleaning up everything and sending everyone home early, Yoshimura called Yomo to his office to make one last wish.

"Renji, there is one last thing that I must ask you. After you get Touka to safety. It is about that little friend of yours, Kaiya..."

That morning Kaiya woke up with a bad feeling. She knew about the CCG's plans thanks to Itori and her information gatherers. She was still staying at Uta's mask shop and it was quite comfortable, however it didn't feel like home at all. She sat on the couch for a while and looked outside the window. "Home... what a strange thing. Any place can be called home, but it'll never feel right, I guess." She thought to herself. A sudden text message interrupted her thoughts and she got up the couch to walk towards the little kitchenette in the back of the shop to check on her phone. It was a message from Naki asking her to meet up.

"How strange..." She told herself and read the message. Uta wasn't around so she had the whole place to herself. That day she was planning to stay inside all day to plan her next move but with Naki's message, it didn't look like an option.

She sent a quick reply and went to the bathroom to get ready. After putting on her usual clothes, she grabbed one of Uta's big black sunglasses and a black wig she found in the closet. She walked outside, hoping that she wouldn't get recognized in daylight.

On her way to meet with him, she made sure to be unnoticed inside the crowded subway. She met with Naki inside a deserted building near the 5th ward. It was a destructed and hidden place that not many people knew about in the outer corners of the ward. Naki, was sitting in a silent corner on the ground, fixing his white suit. He first had a hard time recognizing Kaiya but when he took a closer look, and smiled. "I almost couldn't recognize you, without your redhair." He said.

Behind him, suddenly Eto appeared out of nowhere. She was hiding behind her disguise and under her dark pink cloak. Through the bandages that covered her face, Kaiya could see a big grin. Her heart began to beat faster as she took a few steps back. "What the hell Naki!? Are you setting me up?" She released her kagune as her eyes turned into a kakugan. Eto opened her arms in a friendly way and skipped around with silent steps. "Oh don't worry Kai-chan! I'm here as a friend!" She said and giggled. Naki kept sitting behind, he lowered his gaze and remained silent. Kaiya rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Last time I checked, we weren't exactly 'friends'" She air-quoted with her fingers in an ironic way. Eto giggled again and jumped on the top of a knocked down wall and sat down. She started swinging her legs. "I am here to offer you a deal! I think you're going to like this one!"

"As you can guess, tonight there will be a big fight in the 20th ward. Every investigator will be there and I can't wait to see this..." Eto exclaimed cheerfully. Kaiya rolled her eyes again. "Oh yeah?" She scoffed. Eto continued to talk in her usual carefree and cheerful way. "I'm sure you might find yourself some distraction there and if you prove to be strong, you might even come back to Aogiri!"

Kaiya narrowed her eyes as she fixed her gaze up to Eto. "And why would I want that?" She asked. Her question made Eto grin. She jumped off the torn wall and approached Kaiya. The two faced one another and kept their gaze upon each other. "Because you and I aren't different after all. I know that you desire destruction and chaos. That same ravenous beast lives inside the both of us and this is why I like you! Don't deny it, you still are the monster that Jason made you. We've been watching you. You'll always remain that way... We need reinforcement and you need a reason to fight. Your target has always been Arima but I think it never was for vengeance... I think you just want a bloodbath and death because deep down, you enjoy this." Eto put her hand on Kaiya's chest and felt her heartbeat slowly rising.

"I..." She first stuttered and didn't know what to say. She frowned but suddenly her frown became a demonic grin as she started laughing. "I guess you're right. At first, my sole purpose was to avenge my parents but now I don't see any point in it... What's dead is dead and all I'm doing is just an entertainment because deep down I'm just...". She stopped, took a few steps back and started walking around Eto in circles. "I'm just bored to death...". There was a twisted look in her eyes, she was smirking but a part of her wasn't sure about the decision that she has made.

She suddenly stopped circling around Eto and stopped right in front of her. "I might join you guys at the 20th ward tonight. But I'll try my chances with Arima one last time. I just want to see how far things will go in a real fight against him."

Eto nodded and looked up to Kaiya. "I'm glad to see you haven't lost you killer spirit. Now tell me... how many ghouls have you eaten so far?" Kaiya smirked at Eto's question and cracked a finger.

Kaiya went back to Uta's shop. It was still empty and Uta was nowhere to be found. After devouring many human and ghouls, she wasn't feeling any hunger and she could feel a power burning inside her. She took off the wig and the sunglasses then threw herself on the couch. "Ahhh finally some time for peace and silence. I guess tonight will be, quite an interesting show." She let out a sigh and closed her eyes for a moment. She wasn't sure about her decision, Eto had her when she mentioned Kaiya's cruel side but she was still in a dilemma. She didn't know what Aogiri's real plan was behind going to the 20th ward and she didn't care. The idea of killing as many investigators as she could sounded like a sweet proposal and she liked that. However, deep down, she knew that there was a big possibility that she wasn't going to make it out alive. That was going to be her redemption; whether she gets killed or not. She was debating who she was, who she wanted to become. Deep down, a part of her wanted destruction while another part sought peace and unravel her twisted mind.

Suddenly, a presence in the room disrupted her thoughts. She looked up and noticed a familiar face. Once again, Yamori was standing right in front of her. Her heart skipped a beat as she winked a few times to make sure if he was really present or not. "You! How are you in here?" She got up and frowned. Yamori laughed and cracked his finger. "You think I'd be gone so easily?" He asked and smirked at her.

"GET OUT!" She released her kagune and started wiggling it around while breaking objects. The scorpion tail of hers hit everything including the walls except Yamori who was standing right in front of her. Her eyes grew bigger as she let out a loud scream. She noticed that it was getting dark outside and time has passed quickly.

"I'm not like you. I'm not like you. I'm not a monster. Not a monster". She started repeating the words over and over while shutting her eyes tightly, trying to avoid Yamori. She started walking around the house and stopped in front of the mirror that was hung above the sink. She opened her eyes and looked up to her own reflexion. Suddenly her eyes became normal again and her kagune disappeared. She couldn't recognize herself. Her eyes, her hair, her face, nothing was different yet the woman she was seeing in the mirror felt like someone else was gazing at her with yellow eyes. She suddenly started grinning. "No... This is who I am... I'm nothing more than a killing machine. I am a monster." She quickly turned her gaze at Yamori who stood behind her. She lowered her eyebrows and finally made up her mind. "I am going to surpass you and you'll see my real power..."

She started walking towards the door after making a mess inside Uta's shop. "If you die out there, you'll just prove me how weak you are. If you leave the fight and survive, you'll also be the weak one. No matter what Kaiya, you'll never be strong! But you'll always be that little monster that I created!" He kept laughing while Kaiya rushed outside.

She found herself in front of Uta's shop, outside in the street. She didn't notice how quickly the time has passed. She started walking in the emptied streets towards the 20th ward with a raged look on her face. "You'll see. I am not weak!" She told herself as she kept walking. She entered a dark alley and climbed up to a building's roof. She put on her fox mask and headed towards the Antique Café.


	18. Kakuja (Ch 18)

Kaiya found herself in the middle of the 20th ward, on the top of a rooftop. She looked down upon the war that has been going on. She was surprised to see other ghouls from the 20th ward, fighting on Yoshimura's side. Both the Black Dobers and Apes were fighting, side by side against investigators. "They started playing without me? Oh...". There was a demonic grin on her face along with disappointment. She couldn't see any members of Aogiri but deep down, she knew that they would come in the last moment once everything gets cleared up. It was almost a bloodbath and Kaiya grinned as she observed the scenery. She looked up to the roof of a building that was standing in front of her and noticed that all the special investigators were up there fighting the fake "one-eyed owl" that was in fact the old man Yoshimura.

She wasn't interested in fighting any investigator except for the chiefs of different squads. She wanted to up her game and go straight to the heart of the real fight. Before jumping down to reach the special investigators, she was interrupted by a familiar face.

She took a deep breath and sighed. "Here you are... How have you been Snowflake?" She turned around to face the young ghoul that was standing behind her. It was no one else but Ken Kaneki. He looked at her with a sad look on his face. "I didn't expect to see you here, Kaiya". The two looked at each other for a moment in silence. Only gunshots and screams of wounded ghouls and humans echoed in the whole area that was deserted by all the inhabitants. Kaiya lowered her gaze as she smiled and chuckled. "I'm only here for entertainment. But I assume you have a more noble cause." She fixed her yellow eyes that were illuminated by the moon towards him. Kaneki nodded as he kept remaining silent. Kaiya rolled her eyes and sighed. "That silence of yours remind me of Renji... But I guess that's a common thing between you, knights in shining armors huh?" There was a sarcasm in her voice as she scoffed with a carefree attitude.

"This isn't your fight..." These were the only words that came out of his mouth. His concerns made Kaiya giggle. She rose an eyebrow behind her mask. "And you think it's your fight? I'm not here for Yoshimura, nor for Aogiri. Definitely not for CCG. I'm only here because I enjoy the scenery of chaos and death." She hissed like a threatened snake as she took a few steps towards the edge of the rooftop. Kaneki frowned and he felt a sadness by what Kaiya told him. "Is that your actual reason for being here or is there more? I think you're just looking for your own death because you can't live with the image of yourself. I know because I can see right through you. I've been there..." His voice sounded concerned, however Kaiya thought that his concern wasn't genuine at all. She frowned and narrowed her eyes. She released her scorpion tail shaped kagune and pointed her finger at Kaneki like she was accusing him of something. "Don't you dare talk to me like you know me, Ken Kaneki. There is no empathy nor regret behind this mask. You'll only find what you're looking at... a monster that seeks destruction and nothing more. I'll see you around." She cracked her middle finger and jumped off the roof. "Maybe..." She told herself as she jumped and closed her eyes.

On her way towards the rooftop where Yoshimura was, Kaiya ran into another familiar face. It was the investigator Take Hirako, who was fighting Kaya Irimi with other investigators that she couldn't recognize. Once Hirako saw Kaiya's mask, he recognized her from the fight they had at Aogiri's headquarters many months ago. He clenched his fists and ran towards her to block the way. "Vixen!" He yelled as he pointed his quinque at her. She looked at him with her red ghoul eyes and sighed. "This will be fun!" She told herself as she smirked and swung her kagune towards him.

"Ever since you broke out of Cochlea, you've gotten stronger!" Hirako exclaimed as his quinque and her kagune crashed into each other and caused a loud thud. She kicked his stomach jumped back on her feet. "I've been eating well!" She dodged his quinque as he struck. She then took a deep breath and doubled the size of her kagune. Hirako ran towards her once again and swung it really well, however, Kaiya managed to block it with her scorpion tail. She punched Hirako stomach and made him cough blood. She had a strong grasp of his quinque by wrapping her tail around it and broke it into half. Hirako's expression suddenly changed as Kaiya punched him once again. She fell on the ground, put her foot on his chest and looked down at him. "Now die!" She grinned and was about to stab him with the pointy end of her tail but suddenly a figure in the background caught her attention. It was Yamori, standing in the back and watching her with that big smirk of his. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. She wanted to erase that smirk off his face but instead, she shut her eyes tightly and screamed. "You're not real! Leave me alone!" Her kagune was growing bigger and bigger and she felt it going up slowly through her spine. She looked down at Hirako and noticed the look on his face. There was no expression, only a blank look and no fear in his eyes. She kicked his head and knocked him unconscious. "You're no fun!" She said and left him there.

Her heartbeat was growing faster and she could feel her kagune changing shape, size and covering her body. From her coccyx, it went all the way up towards her shoulder through her spine and covered her neck as well. She observed her own reflexion through the window of an empty store and noticed how different she looked. Spines came out of her shoulder and were in the same colour of her scorpion tail that was almost three times bigger and larger; a dark crimson and black. The kagune that took over her body covered her neck and slowly went over her face and broke her mask into half. She dropped her broken mask and looked down at it. She looked up once again and saw the kagune mask that covered her eyes and the two horns that stuck out of her head. She felt the power that went through her veins to all over her body. She smirked because she knew exactly what was happening to her. She was turning into a kakuja, a kind of ghoul with a with a transformation that clads the ghoul's body and functions as an armor.

She climbed up the roof but only to see Yoshimura down on the ground, beaten. She didn't know if the old ghoul was dead or not but she felt bad for him. She noticed the wounded investigators and noticed a certain young white haired investigator, sitting on the ground with a missing leg. She didn't know who he was but she recognized his quinque immediately. The quinque that was held by the young investigator was made out of Yamori's kagune. She suddenly changed her expression and the smirk on her face was erased. "That kagune... So, he's actually d-dead. You...I ... I WILL MURDER YOU!" She started running towards the investigator like a fox running towards its prey. She was full of rage and thirsty for blood. The young investigator looked up to her but before she could do anything, her path was blocked by two other investigators. She recognized one of them as he was the special investigator Hoji who held her captive in the Cochlea and the other one was a younger investigator with short black hair and a petite figure. She swung her kagune and made the younger detective fall on his knees. Hoji, on the other hand managed to dodge it and pierced Kaiya's leg with his quinque. She didn't feel any pain and pulled out the quinque and threw it away.

She released some of the spikes that came out of her shoulder and then kicked the young black-haired investigator's stomach. Another investigator who was standing further, tried to shoot Kaiya but she blocked the bullets with her larger tail and caught the fallen investigator from his foot then pulled him closer. "Care to give me a bite?" She licked her lips and cracked her finger. After grabbing the investigator's leg, she leaned down and took a bite. The investigator let out a loud scream and tried to free himself from Kaiya's grasp.

The fight was interrupted by another ghoul who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was Eto, Kaiya recognized the voice. But she was in her kakuja form as well and for the first time, she truly saw the true form of the real "one-eyed owl".

"Hope you enjoyed the pregame. Now it's time for the adults to play!" Eto screamed as she started taking down every investigator that was up on that roof, one by one. Kaiya was still in her kakuja form. She stood behind Eto as she watched her devour and wound every single dove that was present up there. She was amazed by how powerful Eto was. She was also annoyed by her because she was just starting to have fun. She turned her gaze towards Yoshimura, who was on the ground, motionless as if he was dead. She could sense some pieces of life, left in him but he was weak. She finally decided to head down and deal with the rest of CCG's investigators since Eto was handling things up in the roof. She jumped down and started chopping off the heads of lower class investigators and officers that were around, with the sharp edge of her tail. While bummed by Eto, taking over her fun, she noticed the reinforcement team that was heading upstairs. She watched them go as she wondered if the One-Eyed Owl would be able to handle all of them. That's when she recognized one of the reinforcements that were heading upstairs, it was CCG's reaper, Kishou Arima.

"Arima..." She narrowed her eyes and watched him go. Once the tall investigator made his way into the building, Kaiya continued to massacre every human she saw in her way. About 40 minutes later, Eto suddenly jumped down the building and made her way to the ground. She ran away and disappeared into the dark. Kaiya looked up and saw Arima sliding down the building while holding a rope. He watched the One-Eyed Ghoul leave then made his way down as well. Once he found himself out in the street, he suddenly fixed his gaze at Kaiya. Behind her, there was a trail of blood and dead bodies. Arima frowned and fixed his glasses. "I guess... I'll have to deal with you instead." Arima told himself as he sighed and prepared his quinque.


	19. Yoshimura's last wish (Ch 19)

"Kaiya..."

Driven by rage and madness, a sudden smell caught Kaiya's attention. It smelled like lavender and coffee and she knew to whom the smell belonged to. "Renji..." Kaiya, without even turned her gaze, kept staring at Arima who was standing right in front of her. Yomo was standing behind her, with his mask.

There was a tension and silence as the two looked at each other for a while. Kaiya, ignored Yomo's presence and ran towards Arima while swinging her kagune. He only took a step back and dodged her attack. There was a lack of expression on his face and a cold look in his eyes. While she was fighting the Reaper, Yomo continued to talk.

"You don't have to fight. Let it go...". Yomo, calm as usual, tried to convince Kaiya to leave with him but she wasn't listening at all.

"Leave me alone Ren! This is what I am ; a vicious creature, a bloodthirsty beast! Can't you see!?" She yelled as she blocked Arima's quinque and used the spines on her shoulder to wound him. She managed to cut through his large coat and leave a bleeding scar on his shoulder. Arima looked at his tiny scar and a discreet smirk appeared on his face. "Huh? You managed to hit me... I'm impressed." Kaiya was angered by his cold attitude. She was even more angry because Arima didn't seem to recall who she was. While the two fought, Yomo continued to talk. He was trying his best to calm the redhead down but she wasn't even listening to him.

"Kaiya, you're not a monster. You're not! Stop this!" He yelled while watching the fight from a slight distance. He tried to remain distant to avoid getting hurt between the two. His heart was aching as he saw her turning into something that she wasn't. He frowned, behind his mask and thought of a way to make her listen.

Arima swung his quinque while she dodged his attacks and she swung her kagune while he dodged hers. The two almost looked like they were dancing and both of them moved with elegance and swiftness. However, only one of them was going to win the fight. Arima, bored of the vicious circle that became their fight, finally decided to take some drastic measures. He had a plan and he was only waiting for the right moment.

"Kaiya! You're not the monster that Yamori wanted you to become! You're so much more and I know this because I know you! There is something that you must know! Yoshimura's last wish was your well being! He asked me to make sure that you live!" And once Yomo finished talking, Kaiya suddenly stopped. She turned at Yomo and her kakuja slowly faded away and she was only left with her normal kagune that shrunk into its normal size. "W-why would he want that?" She asked as she bit her lower lip and clenched her fists so she could hold back her tears.

Yomo continued to talk. "Because he knew your father for a very long time. And he knew you, when you were a baby. You're not that monster, you pretend to be. He promised your father that he would protect you, and he has failed both you and your father. So Kaiya, please, live. I know how much sorrow and anger you hide behind that smile of yours and I know that you're scared to truly see what you've become but there is still hope. You're not alone. You won't be alone. Not now, not ever because I'll always be there for you."

All of a sudden, behind Yomo, a figure has appeared once again. It was Yamori's figure. She looked at her old mentor and frowned. "You're dead." She murmured and Yamori started laughing at her. "Stop denying your true self, little girl. Nobody wants a weakling who can't even finish a fight. FINISH WHAT YOU STARTED!" Yamori hissed. Kaiya closed her eyes and she felt a burden disappearing from her shoulder. "No! You're dead to me! I won't give you the satisfaction...". She roared at him and let out a scream made by a mix of pain and relief. Yamori's figure started disappearing into thin air as Kaiya watched her inner demon slowly fade away.

She started to calm down. The look on her face suddenly changed and tears began to flow. "Yomo I... lo-"

Before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly noticed Arima, who was running towards Yomo while pointing his quinque at him. "I guess this ghoul is your weakness. Then, I'll take him down first." He said as he charged at him. Kaiya's heart skipped a beat and she knew exactly what she was supposed to do. She jumped in front of Yomo and turned her back at Arima to see Yomo's face, one last time. Arima, with his full strength, managed to pierce through Kaiya's chest with his quinque that was in a shape of a spear. The redhead ghoul coughed some blood. Arima didn't bother dealing with Yomo and slowly walked away from the two.

She looked down and noticed a big hole that was in the middle of her chest and she could no longer feel her own heartbeats. Yomo's eyes grew bigger as he caught Kaiya's body before she fell down on the ground. She smiled at Yomo and spoke, hardly, with the last bits of her energy. She breathed in his odor one more time while everything began to become a blur. Raindrops began to fall. With every drop that hit the ground, her ears rang.

"Renji... I- I wouldn't be...able to- ... bear your death." She coughed before she could continue talking. "I guess... this- ... is my redemption."

She was shivering. She could feel the raindrops and the wind touch her pale skin and Yomo's warmth while laying between his arms. "Kaiya. Please don't... I love you." A single tear flowed down Yomo's cheek. She wiped off his tear and chuckled while her eyelids started to feel heavier.  
"Love? What a stupid thing to ..."  
She didn't finish her sentence and looked up to the sky, hidden behind the clouds. Everything became too bright and in front of her eyes, she could see her mother's face. Her mother was smiling down at her, beautiful as ever. "The stars are shining upon me. Aren't they beautiful?" She asked with a trembling voice. Yomo looked up, only to see dark clouds covering the city and big raindrops falling one after another. He looked down at Kaiya and a sad smile appeared on his face. "Yes. They're beautiful…"

Kaiya closed her eyes and her lips curled into a smile. She fell unconscious as her heart stopped beating.  
Yomo kept holding her motionless body. "You're not going to die. We're leaving." He lifted her up and the two disappeared into darkness.

The sun began to rise and 20th ward was dead silent. Emptied streets were filled with dead bodies of ghouls and investigators. The only thing left of Kaiya Suzuki or also known as Kaiya Hiromai was a broken fox mask and her spilled blood on the ground. According to Arima's report, she was registered as deceased and the Vixen Case officially became a completed file in the CCG archives. Her body on the other hand was never found.


End file.
